Practice Examination 100 Questions

Coast Guard Master of Towing Vessels Practice Examination 100 Questions And Correct Answers (Verified Answers) Plus Rationales 2026 Q&A | Instant Download Pdf

• What is the primary function of a towing winch on a tug?
• Provide emergency propulsion
• Store fuel for ballast
• Control towing tension and pay-out
• Act as a mooring windlass

Rationale: The towing winch maintains safe towline tension and controls

payout/retrieval.

• The point where a towing bridle meets at a single connection to the

towline is called:

• Mushroom
• Apex 1 / 4

• Padeye
• Bight

Rationale: The apex is where the bridle legs join before connecting to the

towline.

3. When operating in restricted visibility, the towing vessel must:

• Turn off towing lights
• Sound fog signals at prescribed intervals
• Increase speed
• Stop engines

Rationale: Fog signals are required to alert other vessels of your status and

direction.

4. A towing vessel is required to have charts that are:

• Hand-drawn
• Corrected to the latest notices
• More than 10 years old
• Laminated

Rationale: Charts must be updated to ensure safe navigation.

• What is the immediate action when a towline parts?
• Increase speed
• Ignore it
• Reduce power and assess drift and hazards
• Deploy life rafts 2 / 4

Rationale: Stopping strain and maintaining control prevents further risk to

vessel and tow.

6. The towing light prescribed by the Rules of the Road is:

• White over white
• Red over white
• Yellow over white
• Green over red

Rationale: Towing astern requires a yellow light above the stern light

(white).

7. A tug pushing ahead on a barge is classified as:

• A vessel not under command
• A composite unit
• A sailing vessel
• A trawler

Rationale: Rigidly connected tug-and-barge units form a composite vessel.

8. Stability of a towing vessel increases with:

• High center of gravity
• Low center of gravity
• Reduced ballast
• Removing bilge keels

Rationale: Lowering the center of gravity improves righting moments.

• The primary method to control yaw in towing astern is: 3 / 4

• Using shorter towlines
• Increasing tow speed
• Adjusting towline length
• Adding more crew

Rationale: Changing scope alters the tow’s natural period and reduces

yaw.

10. The purpose of the backing line in a face-wire arrangement is to:

• Support the towline
• Measure speed
• Limit thrust load on the face wires
• Secure the anchor

Rationale: Backing lines prevent overload on primary push wires.

11. EPIRBs transmit on:

• VHF channel 16
• 2 MHz
• 406 MHz
• 88 MHz

Rationale: 406 MHz is the COSPAS-SARSAT emergency frequency.

12. The function of a fairlead is to:

• Store spare wire
• Guide and protect towlines from abrasion
• Increase propulsion
• / 4