Do I have to be getting paid to be gathering sea time for my Captains License?

Nope! You have earned a sea day if you are assisting with the navigation of the vessel and the boat was away from the pier for over four hours.

If you are on your own boat, your friends boat out fishing or even your grandparents boat and you are helping with the lines, looking for other vessels and/or helping steer. You are assisting with the navigation of the vessel.

You want to make sure you keep track of everyday that you have been assisting with the navigation of the vessel. You want to document the water type (Inland, Near Coastal, Great Lakes) and what your role was (Deck hand, Mate or Master).

When you're ready to submit for your USCG license you will create a seperate CG-719S form for every vessel you sailed on and every role you served. If you own your own boat then you can sign the bottom section yourself to "Attest" to your sea service. If someone else owns the boat, you will need to have them sign the bottom section.

We hope this made your life a little easier and if you have other questions the MM-SEAS team is always here to help!

We do prefer to answer questions live with screen sharing to make both of our lives easier.

We hold free live virtual office hours Monday and Wednesday from 5:00 - 5:30 pm PT inside of mmseas.com under License Guidance and then Daily Office Hours.

Pro MM-SEAS members get access to our daily live office hours Monday thru Friday from 5:00 - 5:30 pm PT. You also get access to unlimited live 1 on 1 calls with one of our USCG Licensing Specialists. Pro MM-SEAS members can access these features inside of mmseas.com under License Guidance.