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2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:43 am
by Clevername
Long time lurker first time poster here.

I have the TC syllabus, and I've read through the comments here in the forum. I'm pretty confident on most things. But I do have some questions.

Has anyone recently done their orals in Vancouver?
How long did the exam take and what were some of the questions asked?
How much is left up to the examiner's discretion?
How soon after can you re-challenge the exam?
When I did my 4th's the examiner had me read up on a few things I was rusty on and i went back a few days later and got my ticket. Are they still doing this or will i have to wait till the end of the summer?
How specific are the regulations questions? Are they asking, "which subsection of which annex is this regulation found in?" or is it fairly general. ie. Which Marpol annex deals with oil and what ppm is allowable in Canadian waters?

Everything seems so vague and subjective it's annoying. It would be nice to be able to focus on something.

Thanks.

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:56 am
by The Dieselduck
I haven't taken my exams in Vancouver, but they use to be "notorious" from the rumors I had come across, quite a few years ago. I give you my take on your questions below. All the best to you.

How much is left up to the examiner's discretion? I believe this is a great deal is up to the individual examiner.
How soon after can you re-challenge the exam? I believe fail twice in a row then you will have to wait six months.
When I did my 4th's the examiner had me read up on a few things I was rusty on and i went back a few days later and got my ticket. Are they still doing this or will i have to wait till the end of the summer? This was the case for me as well.
How specific are the regulations questions? Are they asking, "which subsection of which annex is this regulation found in?" or is it fairly general. ie. Which Marpol annex deals with oil and what ppm is allowable in Canadian waters? Mmmm, I would say yes to more general example you give, in particular MarPol and its annexes, but as far quizzing you on the exact reg number, I don't think that is realistic, but then again its up to the examiner.

Everything seems so vague and subjective it's annoying. Yes it is and I completely agree with your statement.

Cheers,

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 3:23 pm
by Peridotparrot
Hi,
I don't know all the engineering examiners in Vancouver but there is one in particular who comes from a hands on towing background who I know to be excellent. He is a Canadian (born in Canada), sorry hope I do not offend anyone.

Nanaimo has an excellent engineering examiner too from the North Coast.

Good luck, I'm off the Naniamo myself for exams Tuesday.

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:50 pm
by JK
Everything seems so vague and subjective it's annoying. Yes it is and I completely agree with your statement.

A complete topic in itself. Some days it is like beating your head on the wall. I feel for the smaller operators dealing with them.

Good luck on your exam.

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:03 am
by JollyJack
2/M Orals in Aberdeen, many moons ago, the examiner said to me "This is an examination on everything you know about Engineering. Well, what do you know?" The same is true now, the Orals scope is defined in TP 2293, which you can see here:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/tp ... 480.htm#12

The relevant chapter is 27.12

The Examiners you will see are very professional, all from Industry, and know Marine Engineering. You will get a fair kick at the can.

There is a fixed "penalty" for failing, it varies from no penalty to 6 months. The required pass mark in Engineering is 60, the table is here:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/tp ... -77.htm#12

relevant paragraph is 2.12

Just a wee tip, think about the questions in EKG and EKM you got lost on, and the ones you never answered. Bone up on safety concerns, what to do in an emergency and Canadian marine laws and Regulations. Of course, you may not get any questions on these at all, it depends entirely on the Examiner. Be assured, however, he will not try to trick you or trip you up. He wants to know what YOU know, not to impress you with what HE knows. If you know your stuff, you'll have no problems. If you don't, you shouldn't be there.

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:03 pm
by The Dieselduck
Jesus Jollyjack, I am not bringing you to any partys? You seem to know a little too much about regulations, eheheheh.

Good to see, my feelies actually have real facts behind them, and I better bone up and find out where to find them. Glad to have you aboard...

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:44 am
by JollyJack
All the regulations, TPs etc are available on line. You only have to go to http://www.tc.gc.ca After you get past the French/English bumph, scroll down and click "Marine". You'll get this: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marine-menu.htm

On the left you'll see A_Z Index, click that and scroll down to "Acts and Regulations" Click "Canada Shipping Act", which brings you here:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/acts-regulation ... 001c26.htm

The Act is near at top of the list, under "Consolidated text" and the Marine Personnel Regulations area bit further down.

TP 2293 is a bit easier to find. On the "Marine" page, there's a search box, top right. Type TP2293 in it, click "Go" and you're off to the races, it brings you here:

http://search-recherche.tc.gc.ca/search ... 93&help=Go click on the TP and it will magically appear before you.

Similarly with any other TP, just type what you want in the search box and it will come up. For a complete list of TPs, just type "list of TPs" and it brings you here:

http://search-recherche.tc.gc.ca/search ... rch=Search

The link to the complete list is at the top of the page. There's all kinds of good info there, everything you ever wanted to know about Acts, Regulations and Transport Publications, including Ship Safety Bulletins.

So there, now you know as much as I do! :) If I can help in any way, Martin, drop me a line, you have my e-mail address.

Re: 2/E Motor Orals

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:43 am
by JK
TC must have done a major overhaul of their site because it sucked.