Swiss Boat Skipper Theory (Kat. A/D) common mistakes
Swiss Boat Skipper Theory (Kat. A/D) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Applying the give-way/stand-on rule mechanically and then stopping or altering course at the last moment, instead of judging whether a risk of collision exists and acting early and substantially.
Candidates memorise 'steer clear of the other vessel' but never practise the practical test: is there a constant bearing and decreasing range? They also forget that a stand-on vessel must still act if the give-way vessel does not. In inland-waterway questions the same reflex produces wrong answers about upstream/downstream priority.
What to do instead
Before every manoeuvre question, run a fixed checklist: bearing check, risk-of-collision assessment, then the action. Learn the stand-on vessel's duty to act when collision cannot be avoided, and drill the difference between the open-water rule and the inland rule where the downstream or larger vessel keeps her course.
Mixing up the day shapes and the light configurations of the same vessel type, e.g. giving a vessel at anchor a black ball instead of a ball forward, or forgetting the two all-round lights for a vessel not under command.
Shapes and lights are learned as separate lists, so the candidate recalls 'anchor = ball' but not 'one ball in the fore part'. Under exam pressure the two lists bleed into one another, and the difference between 'restricted in ability to manoeuvre' and 'constrained by draught' is often not understood at all.
What to do instead
Learn each vessel type as a single paired entry: shape(s) by day, lights by night, plus one line on why (e.g. constrained by draught shows three all-round reds and a cylinder). Redraw the whole table from memory weekly and check it against the rule text, not against a summary.
Treating sound signals as a list to memorise without linking them to the manoeuvre: answering a one-short-blast question with 'I am turning to port' when the correct statement is 'I intend to alter course to starboard'.
The signals are learned in the order of the rule (one, two, three short) and then recalled in the same order, so the mapping to port/starboard gets reversed. Candidates also confuse the overtaking signals (two prolonged plus short) with the ordinary course-change signals.
What to do instead
Learn each signal as an intention sentence: 'one short = I intend to alter my course to starboard', and rehearse them aloud in random order. Keep the overtaking pair separate and note that the vessel being overtaken answers with one prolonged, one short, one prolonged, one short.
Reading a lateral mark or cardinal mark by its colour alone and ignoring the topmark and the direction of the light rhythm, so a west cardinal is confused with an east cardinal or a port-hand mark with a preferred-channel mark.
Colour is the most memorable feature, so it dominates recall. Candidates do not internalise that cardinal marks are defined by their topmarks and by the clock-face light (three flashes = west, six plus long = south), and they forget that the direction refers to the side on which safe water lies.
What to do instead
For every mark, state three things: topmark shape, colour pattern, light rhythm. Practise with a sketch of the four cardinal topmarks (two cones up, two down, base-to-base, point-to-point) and the clock-face flashes. For lateral marks, always ask 'safe water on which side when entering?'
Answering anchoring questions with a single generic 'let out plenty of chain' instead of a scope figure, and ignoring the holding-ground, depth and weather conditions that decide it.
Anchoring is taught as a practical drill on the water, so the numerical rule (roughly three to five times the depth for chain, more in strong wind) is never fixed in memory. Candidates also forget to allow for the height of the bow roller above the water when calculating depth.
What to do instead
Memorise the scope rule as a number and apply it in worked examples: depth plus bow-roller height, multiplied by three to five. Add the checks in order: holding ground, swing circle, other vessels, forecast. State the figure in every anchoring answer.
Giving a forecast or weather answer without reading the pressure trend and the wind direction shift, e.g. calling a falling barometer 'improving' or missing that a veering wind after a front means the worst has passed.
Meteorology is revised as vocabulary (cumulonimbus, föhn, isobar) rather than as a sequence of changes. Candidates learn the words but not the causal chain, so they cannot interpret a falling-then-steady barometer or a backing wind.
What to do instead
Learn weather as a script: pressure trend, wind shift, cloud sequence, visibility, then the conclusion. Drill the standard mid-latitude frontal passage and the local föhn pattern separately, and always answer with the evidence you used, not just the verdict.
Describing a man-overboard recovery as 'turn around and go back', without stating the immediate actions (shout, throw buoyant aid, post a lookout, mark the position) and without choosing a recovery method suited to the boat.
The drill is remembered as a manoeuvre rather than as a sequence, and the first seconds (keeping the person in sight, stopping the propeller) are skipped. Candidates also do not know which turn to use, so they cannot say why a particular method suits a given boat and sea state.
What to do instead
Memorise the order: shout and point, throw flotation, press MOB on the GPS if fitted, post a lookout, then manoeuvre. Learn one turn for a powerboat and one for a sailboat, and be able to say why each keeps the person in sight. Finish with engine in neutral and the recovery plan.
Treating the engine pre-start check as a formality, so answers omit the cooling-water telltale, the fuel and oil levels, the blower or ventilation, and the kill-cord or gear-in-neutral check.
Candidates revise engine faults as a list of symptoms instead of a routine, so they can name overheating but not the checks that prevent it. The cooling-water telltale is often unknown to people who have only read about engines.
What to do instead
Build a fixed pre-start checklist in order: fuel, oil, cooling water intake, ventilation, gear in neutral, kill-cord attached, then start and confirm the telltale. For every fault question, answer with symptom, likely cause and immediate action, and include the cooling-water check where relevant.
Mixing up the Swiss licensing and registration requirements, e.g. which category of licence is needed for which boat and waters, or assuming a foreign licence is automatically valid in Switzerland.
The legal questions are revised from hearsay and outdated summaries rather than from the current ordinance. Candidates do not separate the competence to drive (licence category) from the boat's registration and admission to navigation, which are different duties.
What to do instead
Learn the framework, not just the numbers: which licence category covers which boat and which waters, what registration and inspection the boat needs, and the rule for foreign licences and temporary visitors. Verify every figure against the current official text before the exam, and mark anything you cannot confirm as uncertain.
Naming a knot without being able to say what it is for, or tying a cleat hitch with the wrong number of turns and a locking hitch that jams under load.
Knots are practised as shapes, so the candidate can produce a bowline but cannot choose between a round turn and two half hitches and a clove hitch for a given job. The cleat hitch is often learned casually and then reproduced with a jamming lock.
What to do instead
Learn each knot with its purpose and its limitation: bowline for a fixed loop, round turn and two half hitches for a line under load, clove hitch for a temporary fastening, and the cleat hitch as a full turn, figure-eight, then a locking hitch that lies flat. Practise until you can tie each one and state its use in one sentence.