A calm way to study for your OUPV six-pack captain’s license, on the web and iPhone.
242 questions. 20 free in every module, no card needed. Full Access is 7 days free, then $29.99 a year or $4.99 a month.
Helm covers Rules of the Road, Deck General & Safety and Navigation General, with 142 official sample questions and 100 original ones.
Module 1
Manners at sea. Who gives way, what each light says, and how the International and Inland rules differ.
105 questions
Distress, General, Lights, Restricted Visibility, Sound Signals, Steering & Sailing
Typical passing mark: 90%. Your Approval to Test letter sets yours.
Try 20 free questions
Module 2
Good seamanship is a small habit, repeated. Fire, fuel, survival, radio and the rest of the job.
63 questions
Boat Handling, Engineering, Fire & Fuel, Radio, Regulations, Seamanship, Survival, Watchkeeping
Typical passing mark: 70%. Your Approval to Test letter sets yours.
Try 20 free questions
Module 3
A safe passage is drawn on paper first. Aids, tides, compass work, charts and weather.
74 questions
Aids to Navigation, Charts & Publications, Compass, Electronics, Piloting, Tides & Currents, Weather
Typical passing mark: 70%. Your Approval to Test letter sets yours.
Try 20 free questionsLearn why it’s right instead of memorizing a letter. This one is from the bank. Try it.
Annex IV International and Inland
The rule
All of them are listed in Annex IV, along with SOS and MAYDAY.
Annex IV
The same short blast says different things under different rules. Hear the real signals, then learn what each one means.
47 signals in the catalog, 40 with sound.
Browse every signal
Leaving a dock or berthInland
A warning that a power-driven vessel is leaving a dock or berth.
Inland Rule 34(g), 33 CFR 83.34(g)
Altering course to starboardInternational
"I am altering my course to starboard."
Rule 34(a)
Proposing a port-to-port passInland
"I intend to leave you on my port side."
Inland Rule 34(a)(i), 33 CFR 83.34(a)(i)
Danger or doubtInternational and Inland
I don't understand your intentions or actions, or I doubt you're doing enough to avoid collision.
Rule 34(d); Inland Rule 34(d), 33 CFR 83.34(d)
Power vessel making wayInternational and Inland
Power-driven and moving through the water.
Rule 35(a); Inland Rule 35(a), 33 CFR 83.35(a)
Power vessel stoppedInternational and Inland
Power-driven, underway, but stopped and making no way through the water.
Rule 35(b); Inland Rule 35(b), 33 CFR 83.35(b)
By day
One black ball.
A vessel at anchor shows it in the fore part, where it can be seen. Rule 30.
By night
One all-round white light.
The same vessel, the same message. Helm shows lights in a night scene, then flips to the day shapes.
Mark your exam date. Set a daily goal. Spaced review brings back what you’re about to forget, and a readiness score weights your weakest module.
Start on the phone at the dock and finish on the laptop at home. Answers, bookmarks, exam scores and your exam date follow you, and both sides always agree.
A subscription on either one unlocks both.
On iPhone
Coming to the App Store
7 days free
$29.99a year
Yearly saves 50%. Checkout asks for a card, and nothing is charged until the trial ends. Cancel anytime before then and you pay nothing. After that, plans renew automatically until you cancel. One free trial per person. 20 questions in each module stay free, no card needed. Chart Plot isn’t included.
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OUPV stands for Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels. It's the U.S. Coast Guard credential often called the six-pack, because it covers carrying up to six paying passengers.
No. Helm is an independent study aid. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard or the National Maritime Center. Official sample questions come from the National Maritime Center's public sample examinations.
We can't promise that, and nobody honestly can. Helm gives you practice, the reason behind each answer, and a readiness score that's a study estimate. Passing marks and exam format vary, so confirm yours with your Approval to Test letter.
Chart Plot. That module needs plotting on a paper chart with supporting publications, so Helm doesn't cover it. Helm covers Rules of the Road, Deck General & Safety and Navigation General.
20 questions in each module, chosen to sample every topic, with no card needed. Full Access unlocks everything, on iPhone and the web, for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, after a 7-day free trial.
Full Access starts with 7 days free on either plan. Checkout on the web asks for a card, and nothing is charged until the trial ends. Cancel anytime before then, in Settings, and you pay nothing. Otherwise your plan starts when the trial ends and renews until you cancel. There's one free trial per person, so if you've subscribed or had a trial before, on the web or iPhone, your plan starts right away. On iPhone, the App Store shows any free trial before you subscribe, and Apple decides who's eligible.
Full Access renews automatically at the end of each month or year until you cancel. You can cancel anytime, and you keep access until the end of the period you paid for. Cancel on the web in Settings, or on iPhone in your Apple Account's subscriptions, depending on where you subscribed.
On iPhone, no. The app works offline and signed out. On the web you need one, and it's what lets your progress follow you between the two.
Free to read, no account: the OUPV practice test, lights and shapes, and study guides.
Your first 20 questions in every module are free, no card needed. Full Access is 7 days free, then $29.99 a year.
