Frequently asked questions
Are the questions here official? Can I rely on them?
The questions and pictures are taken from the official question papers that the Ministry of Transport publishes to the public. In English, each question is written in standard nautical English from the Hebrew original, with the same answers; where the official English paper words it differently, its wording is shown under the question. What isn’t from the papers is my work: the division into topics and subtopics, the marking of failing-topic questions, and the explanations.
Every explanation was written against the text of the regulations themselves — the collision regulations (COLREG) and the boating safety regulations — and cites the regulation it comes from, so that you can check me. Even so, the explanations and the division are my interpretation, not an official document (the terms of use say so too). If you find a conflict between something here and the regulations or the question paper, the regulations prevail — and I’d be glad if you wrote to me so I can fix it.
How should I study with the site?
The order that works for most people: start with the question bank to see the material, move on to topic practice and close one topic at a time, and only then take a full mock exam.
From your first exam on, your history already knows where your weak spots are, and from then a weak-spot exam does more for you than a general one: it aims right at them. Before the real exam, go back to exam mode with the clock on, so that the pace doesn’t surprise you either.
What’s the difference between exam mode and practice mode?
Exam mode mimics the real exam: no feedback along the way, all the results at the end, and a clock if you chose one. Practice mode tells you straight after each answer whether you were right and which answer is correct — good for learning, less good for measuring.
Both are saved in your history and marked separately there.
What is a weak-spot exam?
An exam with exactly the same structure as a regular one — the same number of questions and the same range for each category — but within each category it favours questions you got wrong and subtopics you are weak in. It can’t bend the structure of the exam, only choose better within it.
It becomes available after your first exam, because before that there is no data on your weak spots yet, and it is open to everyone without limits — you choose it when you set up the exam.
What is a “failing topic”?
Some questions fail the whole exam with a single mistake, even if everything else is right — usually ones where a wrong answer puts lives at risk or causes a collision. The site marks them, counts them in every exam, and shows you how many of them you haven’t mastered yet.
On these topics there is no “good enough”. Aim for 100%, and you can see how many of them you have already mastered on the history page.
How many explanations do I get for free?
40 for each subject. Once you’ve used them up in Seamanship, you get 40 new ones in Engineering — the count is per subject, not for the whole site.
Explanations you have already opened stay open, and you can always come back to them. For now the explanations are in Hebrew; the English ones are being written. For supporters there is no cap at all. Everything else on the site — the simulator, all 1,582 questions, the topic practice and the weak-spot exams — is open to everyone anyway.
A question paper added to the site recently may not have explanations yet: the questions go up first, and the explanations are written after them, one by one. Until they arrive, the question simply won’t show an explanation — and for me, that is a sign of where to keep writing.
Is my history saved? What happens if I switch to my phone?
Your history is saved in the browser you are using, with no account and no sign-up. That means clearing your browser data deletes it, and switching to your phone starts from a blank page.
For supporters, I keep a copy too, and the history moves between devices: start on the computer and carry on from your phone. You can also delete all of it at any moment from the history page.
Why does the site ask for donations?
The site has running costs, and there is nobody else here to cover them: there is no company behind it, no ads and no selling of data. One person built it from the official question papers and wrote the 1,581 explanations one by one.
What donations cover: keeping the site online and available at any hour, paying for the SMS messages, and continuing to write explanations, add question papers and fix mistakes. The more support there is, the faster the material here grows.
In return, a donor gets the explanations with no cap and a history that moves between devices. It is a one-off payment, with no recurring charge and no subscription to cancel — all the details are on the donors club page.
Why is support for a set period and not forever?
First of all, because that is what fits the way it is used: almost nobody needs this forever. You study for the exam, sit it, and head out to sea. The periods are built exactly around that — from one month for a single question paper up to half a year for a whole licence.
Beyond that, the perks themselves — history kept on the server and explanations on request — add a cost for every person who uses them. A set period, rather than forever, is what lets them stay generous instead of being cut back.
And it is still not a subscription: there is no recurring charge and nothing to cancel. When the period ends, nothing is taken away — every explanation you have opened stays open, your history is kept and comes back when you renew, and everything else on the site is open to everyone anyway. The periods and amounts.
Does the site replace the course?
No, and it was never meant to. It is a practice tool: it helps you get to know the questions, understand the rules behind them and reach the exam without surprises. The practical knowledge and the time on the water come from the course, and the formal requirements for the licence come from the Administration of Shipping and Ports.
I found a mistake, or I have a question. How do I get in touch?
Through the contact page. You can pick a topic — a problem with the site, a mistake in a question or an explanation, a request for a new question paper, or a payment problem — and write in your own words.
I read every message. If you leave a way to get back to you, I’ll reply. Reporting a mistake in an explanation is the most useful thing you can send me.