Who has taken the ASA 101/103/104 exams?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Cadence

That must be in jest. A grade school calculation?

You'd be surprised how many students struggle with and miss that particular question.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

You'd be surprised how many students struggle with and miss that particular question.

That is sad.

[LTDsailing]

I agree that the chapter reviews are good. Also, your instructor will help you understand the trickier points.

[Steve1944]

Originally Posted by KeepInTune

Greetings All!
I'm prepping for my ASA 101/103/104 course and studying hard.

My question is: for those of you have recently (last year or two) taken the ASA exams, are the written exams very similar to the review questions/quizzes in the study books? Or, are the reviews in the books much more detailed and more thorough than the actual ASA exams?

I'll do well no matter what, as I'm studying hard....I'm just trying to gage the extent of the exams and ease my anxieties.

Cheers!

Are you taking the courses and exams without the sailing class?


I took the classes mostly because I love to sail.


We, the class mates and I, did a study session with someone who had the exam in advance; and the instructor went over the questions that were difficult. They were a combination of the workbook questions, combinations of that/them; and information surrounding the information in the book that was on the sample questions in the workbook quizzes.


The navigation questions were the most practical and difficult, overall it was information found in the book on and off the subject of the quizzes, like and more compound than the quizzes, T and F . . . then that 20 page dissertation at the end . . . Whew! That lecto/recto was hard to do manually. But, when they dropped me onto that 60 foot schooner from the helicopter and I had to onehand my way home in the fog at 10 PM, I knew they were serious. But with the leech purchase, or was it the luff purchase . . . um. Better know what's in the book. 'Cuz, I'm still on the boat.

[Steve1944]

A: A schooner has both leech and luff purchases.

[OldFrog75]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

You'd be surprised how many students struggle with and miss that particular question.

That's because they forget the other important non-stated variable

[Steven UK]

Does anyone know of anyone ever failing an ASA test? I studied like hell then found the tests pretty straight forward.

[belizesailor]

Other than 105 (Coastal Navigation), Ive only had a couple of students ever fail the other exams...ever...since 1994.

However, there are multiple versions of most of the exams just in case someone needs to re-test.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by Lazy Geckos

No help here but I'll be doing the same in Nov....good luck, let us know how it goes

Hey Gecko Crew, welcome aboard CF!

[Smokeys Kitchen]

Wife and I were never sailors and we took the 101 through 104 series about six years ago. They were pretty easy if you paid attention during class. The 105 (navigation) required a little more attention to detail but still not so difficult that folks freaked out over it. Took the weather class (119) about a year ago and no one even bothered to take the test; way too much like drinking from the fire hose.

Met a couple of folks who took the 119 class just recently and there were some much braver folks in that one. About a half dozen folks took the test out of about a dozen students. High score was 33 correct out of 75; no passing grades at all

The theory was good but none of it beat any of the practice we did out on the water and owning your own boat is a different deal altogether

[belizesailor]

Ah yeah, 119, completed my instructor certification for that a few years ago...pretty intense. Dont think many schools are actually delivering the class.

The key to doing well on the 105 exam is working lots of practice problems, until each type of problem is second nature. I normally do a 1/2 day review session before the exam...it becomes obvious very quickly which students need more practice. The most common mistake students make is just reading and working a few problems till they get the concepts and thinking thats good enough...its not.

[cruisingdog]

I’ve taken the ASA 101 but I’m pretty rusty at the moment. Would jumping into 103+104 be a good idea or would a refresher of 101 + sailing skills be required first ?

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by cruisingdog

I’ve taken the ASA 101 but I’m pretty rusty at the moment. Would jumping into 103+104 be a good idea or would a refresher of 101 + sailing skills be required first ?

I recommend discussing that with the 103/104 instructor before signing up for the classes. She/he could probably gauge how rusty you really are. I took the 103 with an audit of 101. That is, I had to pass the 101 written test before going out on the water for the 103 course, and the instructor had the option of failing me on both if I could not demonstrate sufficient skill. Your 103/104 instructor might give you a similar option.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by cruisingdog

I’ve taken the ASA 101 but I’m pretty rusty at the moment. Would jumping into 103+104 be a good idea or would a refresher of 101 + sailing skills be required first ?

There is a lot of ovelap in the 101/103 curriculum (needs to be restructured a bit IMHO).

With some text book review on your own and maybe a little on the water review with instructor during class you will likely do fine.

For text book review I suggest using the ASA 101 standard as a review guideline, you can find it in your log book or the ASA web site.

[LTDsailing]

Originally Posted by cruisingdog

I’ve taken the ASA 101 but I’m pretty rusty at the moment. Would jumping into 103+104 be a good idea or would a refresher of 101 + sailing skills be required first ?

When we do our seven and ten day live aboard Cruise and Learn courses, we cover ASA 101, 103 & 104. The curriculum is combined in a way that even if you already have your ASA 101, it becomes a review of the material - not a separate course. I think that this way it works well combining a class with students who might come in with different levels of sailing experience.

Definitely check with your school of choice, but I think this is a fairly common way to do it. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions I can help you with (Chris@LTDsailing.com).