USCG Lifeboatman Exam

Kapok life preservers must have what?

Vinyl- covered pad inserts

What is a sea anchor?

A cone shaped bag used to slow down the wind drift effect.

What is the purpose of the air tanks in a lifeboat?

To keep the boat afloat if flooded

Which data is not painted on the bow of a lifeboat?

a)Number of persons allowed

b)Name of the vessel

c)Weight of the boat

d)Port of registry

c)Weight of the boat

What is the purpose of the limit switch on a gravity davits?

To cut off power when the davits are about 12 inches or more from the track safety stops.

When operating gravity davits, when and how far should they be hand cranked?

Davits should always be hand cranked the last 12 inches into the final stowed position.

When should tricing pendants be released?

After loading the passengers

What are the lines that are passed around the falls to hold the boat while passengers are boarding?

Frapping lines

What is the most common type of davits found on merchant ships today?

Gravity Davits

On which type of davit does the davit head stay at the same height?

Radial Davit

Which davit type may be operated by one man?

Gravity Davit

Blocks and falls used as lifeboat gear must be designed with a minimum safety factor of __.

6, based on the maximum working load.

When landing a lifeboat through heavy surf with a strong current running parallel to the beach (from right to left when facing from seaward) what is the recommended procedure?

Rig a drogue with tripping line over the bow, back ashore with drogue tripped between breakers.

What should you do in order to launch a liferaft by hand?

Throw the liferaft over the side and pull the operating cord.

When should you operate the Rottmer releasing gear lever?

When the lifeboat is waterborne.

How often must the impulse- projected line throwing appliance be test fired?

At the Master's discretion

The capacity of any liferaft on board a vessel can be determined how?

By examining the plate on the outside of the raft container.

What is a precaution that should be taken when testing a line throwing gun?

Never remove the line from the rocket

Improper stowage/use of Kapok lifejackets includes:

Stowing them near an open flame or where smoking is permitted, using them as seats, pillows, or footrests, and leaving them out on open decks.

Which statement is true concerning life preservers (Type 1 PFD's)?

a) Buoyant vests may be substituted for life jackets.

b) Life preservers are designed to turn an unconscious person's face clear of the water.

c) Life preservers must always be worn with the same side facing outwards to float properly.

d) Lightly stained or faded lifejackets will fail in the water and should not be used.

b) Life preservers are designed to turn an unconscious person's face clear of the water.

With the exception of a USCG approved commercial hybrid PFD, which type of life preserver must be carried for each person on board an uninspected passenger vessel?

Type 1

How might an emergency sea anchor be constructed?

It could be constructed using a boat bucket, or and air tank filled with water, or an oar and canvas weighted down.

Due to the shape of the sea anchor, what is the best way to haul it back aboard?

By hauling it by its trip line.

What is the purpose of the tripping line on a sea anchor?

To aid in the sea anchor's recovery.

When a sea anchor for a lifeboat is rigged properly, it will do what?

Help to prevent broaching.

When a sea anchor is used in heavy surf, how is sternway checked?

By slacking the tripping line and towing the sea anchor by the holding line.

When you stream a sea anchor, you should make sure that the holding line is __.

Long enough to cause the pull to be more horizontal than downward.

You need to pull the sea anchor back aboard your liferaft. What part of the anchor do you pull on?

Trip Line

Spreading oil on the open sea has what effect?

It prevents the wave crests from breaking.

How is the external flotation bladder of an immersion suit inflated?

It is inflated by blowing through an inflation tube.

The external flotation bladder of an immersion suit should be inflated when?

Upon entry into the water.

Stowage containers for immersion suits must not be ___?

capable of being locked.

Is it necessary to wear a lifejacket over an immersion suit?

No

What is required of immersion suits in regard to unconscious wearers?

The suit must, without assistance, turn an unconscious person's mouth clear of the water within 5 seconds.

Immersion suits allow what prior to abandonment?

They allow body movement such as walking, climbing a ladder, and picking up small objects.

You are testing the external inflation bladder on an immersion suit and find it has a very slow leak. What action should be taken?

Take it out of service and repair it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

What must be done to lifeboat falls every 30 months (2.5 years)?

They must be end- for- ended

What must be done to lifeboat falls at 5 year intervals?

They must be renewed

The governor brake on a lifeboat winch shall be capable of controlling the speed of lowering a fully equipped lifeboat from a cargo ship at __.

not more than 120 feet per minute (2ft/sec.)

What is required by regulations concerning the stowage of lifeboats on cargo vessels?

Each lifeboat must have a launching appliance.

When lifeboat winches with grooved drums are fitted on a vessel the lead sheaves to the drums shall be located to provide fleet angles of not more than __.

8 degrees

Winch drums for lifeboat falls shall have a diameter at the base of the groove equal to at least __.

16 times the diameter of the wire rope.

By regulation, how long after the date of manufacture do orange smoke signals expire?

Not more than 42 months

With how many EPIRB's must a self- propelled vessel on an international voyage be equipped?

One approved Category 1 EPIRB

How are the frequencies transmitted by Category 1 EPIRB's monitored?

Monitored by orbiting satellites in space.

How often shall each EPIRB be tested using the integrated test circuit and output indicator?

Every month

How must the EPIRB on a cargo vessel be stored?

So that it will float free if the vessel sinks.

How frequently must EPIRB's be tested?

Monthly

When will a float- free EPIRB be activated after abandoning ship?

Immediately after floating free

Which type of vessel greater than 100 GRT is not required to have an EPIRB?

A non self- propelled vessel in tow

How often must inflatable liferafts be overhauled and inspected at a USCG approved service facility?

Every 12 months

What is the minimum capacity for inflatable liferafts on vessels on international voyages?

6 persons

Inflatable liferafts shall be serviced at an approved servicing facility every 12 months or not later than the next vessel inspection for certification. However, the total elapsed time between servicing cannot exceed __.

17 months

Your cargo vessel's certification of inspection expires 30 April 2002. One of your inflatable liferafts was last serviced in January 2002. The raft must be reinspected no later than __.

January 2003

A motor lifeboat shall carry enough fuel to operate continuously for how long?

24 hours

If a lifeboat is stowed 40 feet above the light water draft and 200 feet from the bow, how long must the sea painter be?

80 feet

Who specifies the number of oars that must be carried in a motor- propelled open lifeboat on a cargo vessel?

The manufacturer

The searchlight on a survival craft must be capable of operating for 3 hours continuously or 6 hours intermittently if operated in cycles of ___.

15 minutes on and 5 minutes off.

Up to 2/3 of a survival craft's required drinking water may be produced by a manually- powered reverse osmosis desalinator, provided that it can be done in what amount of time?

2 days

What size bilge pump is required for a lifeboat which has a capacity of 675 cubic feet?

2

When launching an open lifeboat by falls, what should the boathooks be used for?

Used for fending off

A certified lifeboatman assigned to command the lifeboat should ___?

Have a list of the persons assigned to the lifeboat.

What is the minimum number of deck officers, able seaman, or certified persons required for a lifeboat on a vessel in ocean service?

2

Who may command a lifeboat in ocean service?

Licensed deck officers, able seamen, and certified persons.

What does "First Aid" mean?

Emergency treatment at the scene of the injury.

A signal indicating Greenwich Mean Time would be preceded with what?

The letter Z

A signal indicating zone time is preceded by which letter?

The letter T

If another station sent you the signal "KG", they would be saying what?

Asking you if you needed a tug

If there is a possibility of confusion, which signal should be used to send the group "True Bearing 045 Degrees"?

A045

If you are in urgent need of a helicopter, which signal code should you send?

"BR"

If you sent out a signal on 12 March 1980, the date would be indicated by what?

D120380

In the International Code of Signals, what is the code signal meaning "I require immediate assistance"?

CB

The letter G, when sent with a complement, may be followed by what?

Four or five numerals

The letter R followed by one or more numbers indicates what?

Distance

The signal "AS" when used in signaling by the International Code of Signals means what?

Wait

What does the signal "L1210" mean?

Latitude is 12 degrees 10 minutes

What would be the meaning of the flashing light signal "D0910"

Date October 9

How would you signal that your longitude is 3 degrees 25 minutes?

G0325

What signal should be used to send the group "Bearing 074 degrees True"?

A074

When indicating a course using the International Code of Signals, the signal should ___.

Always indicate a true course unless indicated otherwise in the message.

Which single- letter sound signal may be made only in compliance with the International Rules of the Road?

"D"

Which single- letter sound signal(s) may only be made in compliance with the Rules of the Road?

D, E, and S

As defined by the International Code of Signals, a swell that is 8-10 feet in height would be described as what?

Moderate Swell

If help has not arrived in 10-12 hours after having abandoned an OSV in a survival craft, you should do what?

Shut down the engines and put out the sea anchor.

Continuing to wear extra clothing when entering the water after abandoning your vessel will have what effect?

It will preserve body heat

If you must enter water on which there is an oil fire, what should you do?

Enter the water on the windward side of the vessel.

What is one of the first actions you should take after abandoning ship and clearing away from a vessel?

Identify the person in charge

What is one of the first things you would do on boarding an inflatable liferaft?

Pick up other survivors

You are in an inflatable liferaft that has just inflated. You hear a continuous hissing coming from a fitting in a buoyancy tube. What is the cause of this?

Excess inflation pressure is bleeding off and should soon stop.

Your ship is sinking rapidly. A container containing an inflatable liferaft has bobbed to the surface upon functioning of the hydrostatic release. What action should you take?

Take no action; the painter will cause the liferaft to inflate and open the container.

The standard signal for a fire emergency on an OSV is ____.

the continuous blast of the ship's whistle for not less than 10 seconds supplemented by the continuous ringing of the general alarm bells for not less than 10 seconds.

After abandoning a vessel, why is it prudent to wait 24 hours before consuming any water?

Water consumed within the first 24 hours will pass through the body with very little being absorbed by the system.

If the water level is rising in the bilge of a survival craft, what should you do first?

Check the bilge drain plug

When a magnetic compass is not in use for a prolonged period of time it should ___?

Be shielded from direct sunlight

After a person has been revived by artificial respiration, he should be ___?

Kept lying down and warm

At what rate would you render mouth to mouth or mouth to nose artificial respiration to an adult?

12 to 15 times per minute

Changing rescuers while carrying out artificial respiration should be done ___.

without losing the rhythm of respiration

In order to initiate CPR on a drowning victim, ___.

Begin mouth- to- mouth ventilations.

What is the most important element of administering CPR?

Starting the treatment quickly

In order to best provide an airtight seal during mouth to mouth ventilation, what should be done in addition to pinching the victim's nostrils?

Apply your mouth tightly over the victim's mouth.