General Boating Knowledge and Safe Operation
Core concepts
Safe operation starts with knowing your vessel and the environment. Understand hull types (planing versus displacement), basic stability (keep weight low and centred, avoid sudden weight shifts), and how load affects freeboard. Learn the effects of wind, tide and current on low-speed handling, and the fact that a planing boat needs power to steer while a displacement hull steers with rudder flow. Know the meaning of draft, beam, and the 'stand-on' concept only as it relates to your own manoeuvring; the collision rules themselves are covered in Domain 2.
Practical seamanship
Candidates should be able to describe pre-departure checks: weather forecast, fuel for the trip plus reserve, engine and battery condition, bungs in place, and a float plan left with someone ashore. Understand anchoring basics: scope of roughly 3:1 to 5:1 depending on conditions, anchoring from the bow, and swinging room. Know the effect of a wake near swimmers, other craft and shorelines, and the speed restrictions that apply near people in the water.
Traps in questions
Common distractors include 'more speed gives more control' (false in most close-quarters situations), 'the stern is the safest place to board' (usually wrong; board amidships or at the lowest point), and confusing wind direction with current. Questions often ask what to do first in a developing situation; the answer is usually to reduce speed and assess, not to accelerate.
Rule of thumb
If unsure of depth or conditions, slow to a speed where you could stop within the distance you can see, and keep a reserve of at least one-third of your fuel for the return leg.