Buoyline
Florida & California

Practice for your boater exam, with the reason behind every answer.

387 original practice questions, 71 of them with a picture. After each answer you see why it is right and the rule it comes from. Free to start.

Download on the App Store iPhone and iPad · iOS 17 or later
A red nun buoy, cone-shaped at the top, numbered 8, floating in open water.

A question from the app

Returning from sea, you see this buoy ahead. On which side of your boat should you keep it?

  • A On your starboard (right) side
  • B On your port (left) side
  • C On either side, since red nuns only mark the channel center
  • D Directly ahead, passing close to it
Show the answer
  • A On your starboard (right) side
Correct A red nun is a starboard-hand mark. Going in the Conventional Direction of Buoyage, as when returning from sea, keep it on your right: red, right, returning. Source: 33 CFR § 62.25(b)(2), U.S. Coast Guard. “Starboard hand marks indicate the right side of channels when proceeding in the Conventional Direction of Buoyage.”
75 · 75% Florida practice exam: 75 questions, 75% to pass
60 · 80% California practice exam: 60 questions, 80% to pass
387 questions: 243 federal rules, 73 Florida law, 71 California law

The practice exams are modeled on Florida’s rule for approved course exams (Fla. Admin. Code R. 68D-36.104) and on the California Division of Boating and Waterways course standard. Your own course’s exam may differ in length and wording.

Do you need a boater card?

Florida. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, needs a Boating Safety Education ID Card to operate a boat with a motor of 10 horsepower or more. You get it by passing a boating safety course approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The card does not expire.

California. Since January 1, 2025, everyone who operates a motorized boat needs a California Boater Card, whatever their age, with a few exemptions such as rental boats. You get it by passing a course or exam approved by the Division of Boating and Waterways. The card is good for life.

Buoyline helps you study for that exam. It does not replace the course and does not issue a card.

Why this app

You see the situation

Buoys, lights at night, crossing and meeting situations and sound signals are drawn for the question. 71 questions come with a picture, so you decide what you would do, as you would on the water.

Every answer has a source

Each question names where it comes from: U.S. Coast Guard rules and publications, federal regulations, the national boating education standards, and state law. Learn the rule, not the answer.

Practice exams in your state’s format

Florida: 75 questions, 75% to pass. California: 60 questions, 80% to pass. After each one you see your score per topic and every mistake.

Mistakes come back

Questions you miss return until you get them right twice. The start screen tells you when you are exam ready: your last three practice exams passed.

What’s inside

  • Required equipment: life jackets, fire extinguishers, distress signals, lights
  • Navigation rules: who gives way, sound signals, lights at night
  • Buoys and markers, including regulatory markers
  • Safe operation, fueling, carbon monoxide, towing and personal watercraft
  • Emergencies: capsizing, cold water, person overboard, fire
  • Florida law: the ID card, PWC rules, divers-down flags, manatee zones
  • California law: the Boater Card, speed limits, towing rules, quagga mussels

Offline, no account

Everything is on your device: no login, no subscription, no ads, and no signal needed. Nothing about you is collected; your progress stays on your phone. See the privacy policy.

$9.99 one time, no subscription

Start free: the first five questions of every topic and a full practice exam for each state. If you want more, one purchase unlocks every question, unlimited practice exams that differ each time, and mistake review. Apple shows the current price in your store.

Download on the App Store

To be clear

Buoyline is for practice only. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of any government agency, and it is not an approved boating safety course. The questions are original, written from public sources. Laws change, so check the current rules with your state agency.

Think an answer is wrong? Tell us on the support page. A person reads it, and a question that can be better should be changed.