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PCOC Boating Test overview

PCOC Boating Test: Marine radio and distress calls

VHF channels 16, 68 and 70, DSC and MMSI numbers, the operator certificate, cell phones and beacons, Mayday, Pan-Pan and Sécurité calls, false alerts and the duty to help.

  • 18 questions
  • Topic drill
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Marine radio and distress calls · Question 1Score 0/0

You have reached a friend's boat on channel 16. What should you do next?

Study reference: Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026), Ch. How to communicate — Marine radio, cell phones, EPIRBs, distress calls, pp. 48–52

All 18 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. You have reached a friend's boat on channel 16. What should you do next?

    1. Keep chatting on 16
    2. Switch to channel 70 to keep talking
    3. Switch to a working channel
    4. Turn your radio off

  2. What is VHF channel 70 used for?

    1. Marina reservations
    2. Continuous marine weather and safety broadcasts
    3. Chat between pleasure boats
    4. Digital Selective Calling only, no voice

  3. Why is a cell phone not a substitute for a marine radio in a distress situation?

    1. It can't reach the Coast Guard
    2. It is illegal on the water
    3. It works only in daylight
    4. It won't alert nearby vessels

  4. You accidentally send a DSC distress alert. What should you do?

    1. Phone your marina about it
    2. Send a second alert to cancel
    3. Cancel it on channel 16 with name and MMSI
    4. Turn the radio off and say nothing

  5. You hear a Mayday and the boat in trouble is already talking directly with search and rescue. What should you do?

    1. Switch to channel 70
    2. Stand by and don't interfere
    3. Repeat their Mayday loudly
    4. Talk over them to offer help

  6. Which VHF channel is used for distress calls?

    1. Channel 70
    2. Channel 21B
    3. Channel 68
    4. Channel 16

  7. An emergency develops on board. What should everyone on board do right away?

    1. Jump into the water
    2. Put on their lifejackets
    3. Bail with their hands
    4. Phone their families

  8. How does a Mayday call on VHF begin?

    1. 'Help' three times, then your phone number
    2. 'Pan-Pan' twice, then 'Mayday' once
    3. Your location, then 'Mayday' once
    4. 'Mayday' three times, then the boat name three times

  9. What is the MMSI programmed into a DSC marine radio?

    1. Your pleasure craft licence number
    2. A 4-digit radio password
    3. A 9-digit number that identifies your vessel
    4. Your operator card number

  10. What can a cell phone user dial in many areas to reach the Coast Guard?

    1. *70
    2. #68
    3. *911
    4. *16

  11. Your boat is on fire and the fire is spreading. Which call should you make?

    1. Mayday
    2. Sécurité
    3. A radio check
    4. Pan-Pan

  12. What can happen to someone who sends a false distress signal?

    1. A verbal warning only
    2. A free courtesy check
    3. Criminal Code charges
    4. A $50 fine only

  13. What does a Sécurité broadcast usually announce?

    1. A request for a tow
    2. A life-threatening injury on board
    3. Safety information, like a hazard
    4. A boat that is sinking

  14. You see a distress flare from another boat. What does the law require of you?

    1. Only tell your marina later
    2. Help if you can do so safely
    3. Help only if you have a radio licence
    4. Nothing, unless you are closest

  15. Which VHF channel is the general channel for recreational boaters?

    1. Channel 70
    2. Channel 83B
    3. Channel 16
    4. Channel 68

  16. Your engine has failed and you are drifting toward a shipping lane, but everyone is safe. Which call fits best?

    1. No call is needed
    2. Sécurité
    3. Pan-Pan
    4. Mayday

  17. Which emergency beacons work on the water today?

    1. Any Wi-Fi beacon
    2. 121.5 MHz beacons
    3. 406 MHz beacons
    4. 243 MHz beacons

  18. What certificate must you hold to operate a marine VHF radio?

    1. Pleasure craft licence
    2. Restricted Operator Certificate (Maritime)
    3. Amateur Radio Operator Certificate (Basic)
    4. Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC)

Marine radio and distress calls: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Marine radio communications

  • GMDSS equipment (VHF/MF/HF-DSC radios, EPIRBs, NAVTEX, Inmarsat) relays distress alerts; not required on pleasure craft but a good idea; connect to GPS so the position is sent automatically.
  • Marine VHF is generally the best way to send a distress alert; keep it tuned to channel 16; know where you are.
  • All VHF marine radio operators must hold a Restricted Operator Certificate - Maritime (ROC-M); delegated by ISED to the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron in 2000.
  • Buy a VHF with Digital Selective Calling (DSC) on channel 70 for automatic digital distress alerts.
  • Table 12: Channel 16 emergency/distress; 21B, 23B, 25B, 28B, 83B Continuous Marine Broadcast; 68 general channel for recreational boaters; 70 DSC only, voice prohibited; WX1-WX3 weather.

Channel use, MMSI, cell phones, EPIRBs, distress signals

  • Channel 16 only for emergency and calling; after contact switch to a working channel. Channel 70: digital only.
  • MMSI: 9-digit number identifying your vessel, programmed into the radio. MI: 9-digit number identifying you as an individual (portable radio). Both from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
  • *16 on a cell phone may reach Coast Guard MCTS but is not a substitute: phones lose reception, fail when wet, don't alert nearby vessels, can't be homed in on, *16 service is limited.
  • EPIRBs transmit for hours, manual or float-free; only 406 MHz beacons work; replace 121.5/243 MHz units; register with the Canadian Beacon Registry.
  • When you see a distress signal you are legally required to help if you can without risking your life or boat, and to notify the nearest JRCC when possible.
  • False distress signals are illegal (Criminal Code).

MCTS and GPS

  • MCTS broadcasts Notices to Shipping, weather and ice conditions; listen to VTS frequencies near VTS areas.
  • GPS accurate to about 10 m; keep charts in case it fails; use a marine GPS, not automotive.

In an emergency; radio terms

  • Stay calm; everyone puts on a lifejacket; assess; bail if flooding; make a distress call.
  • Mayday: immediate danger to life (life-threatening medical emergency, sinking, fire).
  • Pan-Pan: urgent but not life-threatening (non-life-threatening medical, lost navigation lights, lost power drifting toward a shipping lane).
  • Securite: used by authorities for general safety information (navigation hazard, large ship entering a narrow channel).
  • Mayday call: "Mayday" 3 times, boat name 3 times and call letters once; then location, nature of emergency, help needed, number aboard and injuries, boat description and seaworthiness; wait, repeat. DSC: press the distress button.
  • Keep a laminated script near the radio.

False alerts and hearing a distress call

  • Accidental DSC alert: switch unit off and on, select channel 16, broadcast boat name and MMSI, state you are cancelling the false alert with date and time.
  • Hearing a distress call: respond immediately; you must help if you can without endangering yourself or others; may go to the boat, communicate, relay messages - but don't interfere if the boat is talking directly to search and rescue.

Distress signals card

  • Distress radio frequencies: 2182 kHz (MF) and channel 16, 156.8 MHz (VHF).

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