Which License Should I Obtain as a Sailor?

Are you an avid sailor who wants to increase your knowledge out on the water? Maybe turn your passion into a profit on your sailboat? Let's turn that passion into a reality by adding Captain in front of your name. Really you can go with either captain’s license, it just depends on how many passengers you’d like to take aboard!  

For those who want to run sailboats, the Auxiliary Sailing Endorsement is required to operate an inspected sailing vessel. This endorsement can be attached to a 25/50/100-Ton Master captain’s license, which allows you to carry 7 or more passengers under sail on an inspected vessel.  

You CANNOT add this endorsement onto an OUPV/Six-Pack captain’s license because the OUPV/Six-pack captain’s license covers both power and sail vessels! The OUPV/Six-Pack license is good for uninspected power and sail vessels up to 100 GRT. 

Due to increased professional opportunities, we recommend the 25/50/100-Ton Master captain’s license + Sailing Endorsement.

If you intend on operating professionally on a sailing vessel, there are some additional boating experience requirements listed below: 

• To add the sailing endorsement onto a Master Inland or Mate Near Coastal License you must document at least 180 days on a sail or auxiliary sailing vessel 
• To add the Sailing Endorsement onto a Master Near Coastal License you must document at least 360 days on a sail or auxiliary sailing vessel 

You can always add this on to your license later. When you do, you will be filling out the Small Vessel Sea Service Form CG-719S as well as paying the application fee to USCG.  

The average student takes a few hours to complete the sailing endorsement online course. Some of the course subjects within the Sailing Endorsement are sailing vessel seamanship, sailing rules of the road, anatomy of a sailboat, and sailing terms and definitions. 

Most students will take around 20 minutes to complete the Sailing Endorsement final exam. Check out this knowledge article for the Sailing Endorsement exam breakdown. 

The Auxiliary Sailing Endorsement Deluxe Edition course cost $125 + shipping.  

This will include: 

• One year's access to our award winning- Internet based narrated lecture and interactive learning system 
• A hard copy of the Auxiliary Sailing for the Mariners book in an MLS briefcase 
• No additional fee for our online final exam 

The Sailing Endorsement Digital course and online exam cost $100. This will include all that is mentioned above, minus the hard copy study guide. 

To sum it all up for you, in any event you are looking to take 7 or more paying passengers on an inspected sailing vessel, you will need a Master captain’s license with a Sailing Endorsement attached. If you stay under 6 paying passengers on an uninspected vessel, then the OUPV/Six-pack is the license for you!

Check out our courses today to get started.