The Full Boatmaster's Licence Revision Library — All 28 Cards, Tier 1 Levels 1 & 2

If you're working toward a Boatmaster's Licence, the full revision set for Tier 1 is now built — 28 cards covering every section of both levels, straight from MSN 1853's two annexes.

Tier 1 Level 1 — 12 Cards (MSN 1853 Annex 9)

Categories A, B and non-linked C waters. Covers bridge watchkeeping and navigation, meteorology, ship manoeuvring, vessel handling in extreme weather, mooring and unmooring, ropework/access/lifting gear, ship construction and maintenance, ship stability, basic engineering and machinery, health and safety, emergency action, and pollution prevention — 11 syllabus sections, one card each (stability gets its own card given its density).

Tier 1 Level 2 — 16 Cards (MSN 1853 Annex 10)

Categories A to D plus limited coastal sea waters — the step up from Level 1, with genuinely new material, not just a re-word. The additions worth knowing before you start: an entirely new tides and currents section (chart datum, tidal curves, correcting soundings), a new compass work section (magnetic and gyro theory, variation and deviation), and formal chartwork for the first time — passage planning, ECDIS, radar/ARPA, GPS. Several other sections extend rather than repeat Level 1: ship manoeuvring adds tidal stream effects and emergency steering change-over, and vessel handling in extreme weather adds pitching, pounding, racing and broaching-to.

What's Unchanged Between the Two Levels

Mooring and unmooring, ship stability, basic engineering and machinery, health and safety, and emergency action are essentially the same knowledge base at both levels — if you've revised these once, treat the second card as a refresher rather than new content. Worth knowing so you don't over-revise material you've already covered.

Where to Start

Work through Level 1 first if you're starting from scratch — it's the shorter syllabus and the foundation for everything Level 2 adds. If you're already through Level 1 and moving up, the three genuinely new Level 2 sections (tides, compass work, chartwork) are worth prioritising over the sections that repeat.

Test Your Knowledge

Think you've got this covered? Put it to the test in Crew Connect's free Knowledge Checker — try a quick navigation round and see how you score.

Related Reading

• BML Revision: Bridge Watchkeeping & Navigation (Section 1) — start here for Level 1
• BML Revision: Tides & Currents — the biggest new topic at Level 2
• BML Revision: Chartwork — the largest single addition in the whole Level 2 syllabus
• 43 New Revision Cards, Straight From the Real MCA Syllabus — the full body of work this card is part of