Master of Yachts Limited (Power or Sail)

• Master of 200 ton vessel up to 150 nautical miles offshore
• Chief Mate of 500 ton vessel up to 150 nautical miles offshore
• Chief Mate of 200 ton vessel all oceans
• OOW (Officer of the Watch) of a 500 ton vessel all oceans.

• Candidates should be 18 years of age or older.
• One must hold or obtain a Marine Communications VHF-SRC Radio Operators certificate.
  * Please note that we do not accept ISSA VHF qualifications.
  (If you are unsure if your radio license will be accepted, please send a scanned copy of the front and back of your license to [email protected]. We will verify that your license is sufficient to receive the IYT Master of Yachts Limited license).  
• One must hold or obtain all Basic STCW certificates.
  • STCW certificates must be valid (not expired).
  • If STCW Safety Training is taken after January 1, 2014 the new Proficiency in Maritime Security Awareness is also required.
• Candidates must provide documented evidence of boating experience as stated below:

  

  • Sea time must be on a yacht (at least 10m in length) which can be defined as a non-cargo carrying vessel for recreational or commercial charter purposes.
  • You must be an active crew member at sea; therefore, a day is defined as a period of 8 consecutive hours.
    • We do not accept ship yard service and stand-by service as sea time.
  • The term “at sea” is defined as being on a vessel outside of any harbour – natural or artificial – in which a cruising yacht could secure or anchor for a prolonged period.
  • The nautical miles must be on genuine cruises or passages, not short-day trips. The candidate must have considerable time of actual vessel handling.
  • The minimum 1,500 nm for the power endorsement cannot include sea time on any monohull sailing vessel driven under power.
  • If you have a sea time logbook, please scan copies of pages, and send them to us in one PDF document; make sure your name is at the top of each page prior to scanning.
  • You may also use these documents: (you must be logged in to your IYT Account to access)
    • iyt testimonial for sea service
    • iyt candidate sea time form
• A current medical fitness examination and a colour blindness eyesight examination, which allows the participant to safely perform the relevant duties on a yacht. Medical/eyesight examinations must be performed within the last two years from the time the certificate is being issued.

Please Note: A candidate may take both endorsements, however, it is highly recommended that he or she have some hands-on practical experience and sea time on both power and sailing vessels before attempting the exam. The practical exam is not the forum for learning basic skills. Candidates may sit the shore-based course prior to having all the above requirements. Verification of the above yachting experience must be original and signed by the skipper of the yacht in which the candidate was sailing. Candidates claiming sea time during times when they were acting as skipper may sign their own entries but independent verification may be required.

Note: We will also accept military letters stating service days for seatime, however, each will be reviewed to ensure they have sufficient experience for the level of certificate they are requesting.

The programme consists of a theory course and a liveaboard practical course. Each course stands alone and can be taken individually, however, the theory course must be successfully completed prior to taking the practical liveaboard course. They may be taken with any of our participating partner schools and do not necessarily have to be completed in immediate succession, however, it is recommended in order to retain as much information as possible before the final on-board examination.

The theory course is a six-day comprehensive high-level shore based course with assessment papers and written examinations. Candidates are advised that a considerable amount of private study and varied cruising experience is required in addition to the formal instruction provided.

The liveaboard (power or sail) practical course is a five-day course covering seamanship skills including ability to command and situational awareness. As fatigue can adversely affect one’s ability to perform/command, the liveaboard aspect of the course is critical to ensuring candidates are indeed prepared to command. This will be a preparation course for your final IYT Master of Yachts Limited Examination.

Course Syllabus

• Chartwork instruments
• Charts, latitude and longitude
• Distance, speed, time & direction
• The magnetic compass, variation& deviation
• Position lines and position fixes
• Dead reckoning and estimated positions
• Tides
• Currents
• Course to steer to counteract a current
• Meteorology
• Pilotage
• Passage planning
• Electronic navigation aids
• International regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS)
• Ships construction
• Ship stability & drydocking
• Ropework
• Towing
• Anchoring
• Emergency procedures
• Ships power plant
• General maritime law

The final exam will be conducted by an independent IYT Master of Yachts examiner and takes the form of an extensive oral and practical test on a yacht (power or sail). Candidates can expect to be examined on any subject covered by the syllabus of the shore based or practical courses and to be questioned on any aspect of their yachting experience to date. You must successfully complete:

• A power examination on a power vessel in order to obtain certification for power vessels.
• A sail examination on a sailing vessel in order to obtain certification for sailing vessels.
• To obtain both a sail and power certification, two examinations will be required, one on a sailing vessel and another on a power vessel.

In the event that the examiner considers a candidate not to have achieved the required standards and/or the candidate’s ability as Captain does not reach the required standard, and/or the prerequisites have not been met for the IYT Master of Yachts Limited, a Master of Yachts Coastal certificate may be issued in the interim. In this case, and if requested, a personal report will be sent to the candidate outlining the reason or reasons for failure and suggesting remedial action prior to re sitting the exam. Completion of the Master of Yachts Limited certification course is not a guarantee of passing the examination and receiving your certificate.

How do I get a power or sail endorsement on an existing Master of Yachts Limited certificate?

To obtain an additional endorsement for either power or sail on your existing Master of Yachts Limited certificate you must be examined on board by an IYT examiner at an approved IYT school.

How do I apply for enrollment?

Candidates may apply to any of the participating IYT Partner Schools worldwide who offer this course.

In order to apply for the IYT Master of Yachts certification courses, a detailed yachting resume must be sent to your IYT partner training school for evaluation.

Acceptance into the course does not automatically guarantee obtaining an IYT Master of Yachts certificate. All the prerequisites must be fulfilled and satisfactory standards achieved.

The IYT Master of Yachts Limited is recognised as dual certification by the U.S. Coastguard as long as the courses, including STCW Basic Safety Training, were taken in the U.S. with an IYT school approved to teach the Master of Yachts Limited Course. Upon completion the candidate may submit their paperwork to the U.S. Coastguard for their equivalent 200 ton license PROVIDED they have the proper sea time to fulfill the U.S.C.G. requirements for Master of Vessels not more that 200 tons. This dual certification is available only for U.S. citizens.

For a U.S.C.G. license, the entire course, including STCW modules, must be taken at an IYT school that has approval to offer the course and is USCG approved. In addition to the above Master of Yachts courses, two additional modules and examinations will need to be taken to satisfy US Coastguard requirements:

• Six hours of basic Stability familiarising students with basic principles of ship construction stability and structural members.
• Six hours of General Ships Knowledge covering Aids to navigation, Marlinspike seamanship and the USCG Codes of Federal Regulations.

The MCA are no longer allowing Deckhands, Officers of the Watch, Mates or Masters who have color blindness to hold MCA certification. In the past, those who were diagnosed with color blindness were issued certificates with the endorsement” no solo watch” or “dual watch only”.

Because the IYT/MCA Master of Yachts certificates are commercial in nature, IYT will be complying with the same MCA requirements and will be unable to issue any commercial certificates to those who have color blindness.  It is imperative that students undertake a color blindness test BEFORE they enroll in any IYT/MCA commercial course as we will not be able to certify them.

Also, it is important to note that a ‘lantern test’ for color blindness is no longer accepted.  The test must be an Ishihara or CAD test.

Those who already hold IYT/MCA commercial certificates with a color blindness endorsement “no solo watch” will be able to renew with the same endorsement”.

For those candidates who are hearing impaired, hearing loss should not exceed 20 decibels for the frequencies of 500Hz, and 1000Hz and 2000Hz. When hearing level does not meet these standards, hearing aids may be accepted providing the above standards can be reached when using the aid and watch keeping duties at sea can be adequately performed.

Candidates with Type 1 Diabetes may receive the IYT Master of Yachts Coastal/Mate and Limited Certificates of Competency.  However, please know that the MCA may not allow you to progress to the OOW or 500 and > Master Certification. 

Please note that the MCA will not issue an STCW qualification to candidates who do not pass the “ENG1 Medical Fitness Examination”.  The MCA will not allow you to progress to the OOW or 500 and > Master Certification.

Click here for information on time submission requirements for MOY Mate/Coastal, Limited and Unlimited.