Thousands of captains enjoy earning a living carrying passengers for hire under their 6-pack licenses.
The OUPV license allows you to carry a maximum of six paying passengers (abbreviated as “pax” in the ship’s log), hence the popular term “6-pack” license.
This license is for operating uninspected, recreational-type vessels up to 100 gross tons capacity. These are vessels that are not specifically designed, approved nor built for commercial service. Examples would be recreational power boats and most auxiliary sail boats.
The scope of the OUPV License is the 75%
base of the Master’s License, including
Rules of the Road,Navigation General, Deck
General/Safety, and Chart Plotting.
The Master’s License requires an additional
25% classroom time and includes information
such as fixed firefighting systems and lifeboat
operation.
You can easily upgrade from an OUPV License to a Master’s License later, without having to bite off the entire informational “apple” at once.
Regardless of the size of vessel or whether you hold a master’s license (see below), uninspected vessels may only carry a maximum of six paying passengers.