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Aids to navigation practice questions

21 questions from the boating safety practice test.

Aids to navigation practice test

10 questions, graded as you go, with the reason for every answer. No sign-up.

What this covers

Sample questions

Which description fits a green lateral buoy in the US system?

  1. A can-shaped buoy with an odd number
  2. A cone-topped buoy with an odd number
  3. A can-shaped buoy with an even number
  4. A cone-topped buoy with an even number
Show the answer

A. A can-shaped buoy with an odd number

Green buoys are cans (cylinders with flat tops) and carry odd numbers. Red buoys are nuns, with cone-shaped tops and even numbers.

Reference: US Aids to Navigation System (33 CFR 62.25)

What is a 'nun' buoy?

  1. A green buoy with a flat top and an odd number
  2. A white buoy with orange bands and an orange diamond
  3. A red buoy with a cone-shaped top and an even number
  4. A yellow buoy with a flat top and no number
Show the answer

C. A red buoy with a cone-shaped top and an even number

A nun is the red, even-numbered lateral buoy with a tapered, cone-shaped top. The flat-topped green buoy is a can. Shape lets you tell them apart when color is hard to see in poor light.

Reference: US Aids to Navigation System (33 CFR 62.25)

As you travel upstream, away from open water, what happens to the numbers on lateral markers?

  1. They increase
  2. They decrease
  3. They repeat every mile
  4. They follow no set order
Show the answer

A. They increase

Numbers start low at the seaward end and increase as you go inland or upstream. If the numbers are going down, you are heading toward open water and green should be on your starboard side.

Reference: US Aids to Navigation System (33 CFR 62.25)

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