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Old 06-06-2016, 14:21   #1
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Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

I'm taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend.

Course website: https://asa.com/certifications/asa-1...al-navigation/

Any tips? Recommendations? I have the ASA 101, 103, and 104 under my belt and I'm happy to be improving my skills and getting the certs. I know that nothing beats the experience of years and years on the water, but I want to have a good mix of theory AND experience.

Thanks in advance for any input!

And if anyone has any questions on the ASA 101, 103, and 104 - just ask
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Old 01-07-2016, 18:01   #2
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

How was it? Took 101 and 103. Was thinking of taking 105 next.

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Old 01-07-2016, 19:10   #3
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

The key to being successful on the 105 exam is actually working practice problems, lots of each type. Some students assume that because they understand the concepts that they will do OK -- it is not the same as actually working the problems until they are second nature.

Below is a link to a 105 prep recommendations document I send out to students.

https://db.tt/3ciG1R8c

There are two official books for this class. The one by Tom Tursi is very well done.
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Old 01-07-2016, 19:13   #4
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Thanks for the info!

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Old 01-07-2016, 19:21   #5
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

De nada.

Be happy to answer questions you have on any other ASA classes too.
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Old 01-07-2016, 19:23   #6
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Are you an instructor? If so, where?

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Old 01-07-2016, 20:36   #7
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Most of ASA exams are very common sense. The 105 test is a little more difficult and I have been told harder than the test for a captains license.. Practice from the book before the test and you will do fine.
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Old 02-07-2016, 05:16   #8
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Quote:
Originally Posted by molo0928 View Post
Are you an instructor? If so, where?

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Yes, Ive been an ASA instructor since 1994. Have worked at schools in Texas, Florida and Belize. Have run my own schools in Texas and Belize. I am also an IE (Instructor Evaluator).

I don't teach very actively anymore, just occassional private instruction and IQC's (Instructor Qualification Clinics). Most recently in Belize & Martinique/Grenada.

Pic from my last IQC in Belize. Got to tick an item off my bucket list, which was to sail a traditional Belizean fishing vessel.

Come up with a cool sailing venue and I just might show up and teach.
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Old 02-07-2016, 05:39   #9
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tomdidit View Post
Most of ASA exams are very common sense. The 105 test is a little more difficult and I have been told harder than the test for a captains license.. Practice from the book before the test and you will do fine.
Yes, most of the "core" classes (101,103,104, 114) exams are straight forward. My suggestion to perpare for these is to read the associated text and then use the corresponding detailed standard (published on the ASA web site and in the log book) as a study guide.

Coastal Navigation (105) is one of the more difficult exams and requires a lot more preparation as already described.

The 106 (Advanced Coastal), exam is not hard, but it covers a very wide range of sailing knowledge (think a survey of questions taken from "Annapolis Book of Seamanship").

The USCG exams are randomly generated so its somewhat the luck of the draw. When I originally sat for USCG exams, I had prepared by reviewing their database of questions, most were pretty straight forward and I was already a 105 instructor so I didn't sweat that module too much. But....when I showed up, I got the navigation exam from hell, every question was complex...took me half a day to complete...did fine, but it was a bitch...sorta like the 105 exam (which most students take several hours to complete).
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Old 12-07-2016, 18:23   #10
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Can I hijack this post a sec since my ? Is ASA themed. Do I have to go to an actual sailing school to get my 103, 104 etc, or can I just get the on water experience I need and pay to take the test?
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Old 12-07-2016, 20:32   #11
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mfotis View Post
Can I hijack this post a sec since my ? Is ASA themed. Do I have to go to an actual sailing school to get my 103, 104 etc, or can I just get the on water experience I need and pay to take the test?
Yes you can challenge ASA standards. A challenge involves an on the water evaluation plus a written exam for each standard (written exam only for 105). Whether a full class or a challenge all are done thru an ASA affiliated school.
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Old 13-07-2016, 04:54   #12
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

Thanks
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Old 13-07-2016, 05:25   #13
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

De Nada.

Just do a search on "ASA challenge sailing" and you will get hits on schools that offer it (including "sailing" weeds out golf and other crap).

Interestingly, I did not find it on the new ASA web site, but to my knowledge it is still officially allowed.

When I ran a school, we only offered challenges in conjunction with booking other full classes. The issue is that by the time you include the cost of an instructor, a boat, materials, ASA fees etc...its a lot of underlying costs for one student. So, its hard to do challenges profitably. I treated them as a loss-leader to encourage other bookings.
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Old 13-07-2016, 16:21   #14
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Re: Taking the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course this weekend; any tips?

You will do better if you have the right tools to use during practice and especially for the test, which took me four hours to complete. If not supplied have the following: A good mechanical pencil w plenty of lead. A quality eraser. Use a protractor / plotter (not parallels) to increase accuracy and decrease errors... a degree here, a degree there really adds up in a multi step exercise. A good set of dividers with the set screw to fix the angle. Don't use the cheap kind that flap open and closed. Bring a magnifying glass and if you have less than 20/20 vision and extra pair of glasses with higher magnification than normal. If you have allergies take medicine before the test. I'm not kidding. Your eyes will be punished by the detail in this test. Spend time studying the Chart no 1. You can use it during test, but can waste a lot of time looking for symbols if you are not familiar with the layout. Finally, spend lots of time on the practice problems and take the test the weekend after the course.... don't put it off. Seemed to me that students who came back a month later walked away empty handed. Cheers,, Pappy
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