Tim wrote:
http://www.marinersschool.com/

Get a Capt. license with no USCG exam.

is this like getting a medical diploma from the University of
Bohmvobia? send us the money, we send you the diploma!

???

It's like anything you do - you get out of it what you put into it.

A lot of the USCG testing is done by organizations like this. Some
teach their test, some teach the material and test against it.

You can learn a lot in these classes, but they are so condensed that you
end up reviewing every once in a while just to keep the knowledge ready.

I took the USCG exam years ago before the sea schools and from what I
understand, it's a lot harder than these tests. It's a matter of degree
- how much is considered acceptable in terms of error and what not.

It's one thing to be able to pass the test - it's another to have the
sea time to qualify for a particular level license. I know guys who
have 100 ton licenses and own a 20 foot bass boat. As long as you can
document a friend's boat as "experience", you can qualify.

It's an odd situation. I used to have a 100 ton license, but I
downgraded the license to 25 tons because I never used the 100 ton
license. The nice thing is that I have good endorsements which is all I
ever wanted to achieve when I first started on this path years ago.