Finally passed my USCG maritime exam after three attempts — what worked

I've been trying to get my OUPV (6-pack) captain's license for almost two years now and I just got my results back yesterday — passed with an 82%. Honestly didn't think it would happen after failing the navigation rules section twice. If you're grinding through a MARITIME MARINE practice test and feeling stuck, you're not alone.

What finally clicked for me was switching from just reading the Chapman's manual to actually timing myself on rule-of-road scenarios. The exam doesn't care if you understand the concept — it cares if you can pick the right answer in under 90 seconds. I found a solid maritime marine study guide that broke the COLREGS into decision trees instead of paragraphs, and that made a huge difference. Spent about 3 weeks, maybe 45 minutes a day.

My weak spots were the Western Rivers rules and the restricted visibility scenarios. Anyone else struggle with those? Happy to share the specific exam tips that helped me nail the navigation section if people are interested.