USCG Exam PracticeAB watchkeeping and helm commands
The order 'steady as she goes' requires the helmsman to:
- A. Reduce rudder angle gradually until the rudder is amidships.
- ✓ Maintain the heading the vessel is on at the exact moment the order is given.Correct
- C. Come to the last ordered compass course and hold it.
- D. Apply opposite rudder to stop any existing swing, then hold the ordered course.
Why B is correct
NAVEDTRA 14067 §2-1 defines 'steady as she goes' as keeping the ship on her present heading at the moment of the order — not a previously ordered course and not a course derived from any other reference. Option D describes 'meet her,' which is a separate and distinct command.
Cited:NAVEDTRA 14067 §2-1