Glossary
Motorboat Operator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential motorboat operator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key motorboat operator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in motorboat operator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Bow
- Front.
- Channel 16
- Emergency channel.
- Cleat
- Line fitting.
- Fender
- Bumper.
- MMC
- Merchant Mariner Credential.
- OUPV
- Six-pack license.
- Port
- Left side of a vessel.
- Sea time
- Days on the water.
- Small craft advisory
- Weather warning.
- Starboard
- Right side of a vessel.
- Stern
- Back.
- TWIC
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
- USCG
- U.S. Coast Guard.
- VHF
- Marine radio.
- Wake
- Waves behind a boat.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Motorboat Operator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Motorboat Operator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.