The CG-719S small vessel sea service form is an optional single-page PDF from the National Maritime Center that documents time worked on vessels under 200 gross register tons for a Merchant Mariner Credential application. You fill in the vessel’s identifying data at the top, log your qualifying days month by month in the grid below, and have the owner, operator, or master sign the certification block. The form is optional because a sea service letter carrying the same information will also satisfy 46 CFR 10.232, but the form’s layout matches what Coast Guard evaluators look for, so using it tends to reduce back-and-forth.
What to Gather Before You Open the Form
Every field on the CG-719S traces back to 46 CFR 10.232. A blank or a guess is the fastest way to stall your application, so pull these from logbooks, personal records, or the vessel’s documentation before you start typing.
- Vessel name and official number, exactly as they appear on the Coast Guard documentation or state registration certificate.
- Gross tonnage from that same document. The form only covers vessels under 200 gross register tons.
- Propulsion power and mode. The regulation requires you to state how the vessel is propelled and at what power.
- Your capacity aboard: mate, deckhand, engineer, or whatever role you actually filled.
- Exact start and end dates for each period of service, broken down by month.
- Routes and geographic areas, plus a tally of days in three categories: Great Lakes, waters shoreward of the boundary line defined in 46 CFR Part 7, and waters seaward of that boundary line.
- Average hours underway per day. The Coast Guard uses this to confirm you meet the minimum-hours threshold for a day of credit.
- Average distance offshore, which helps evaluators categorize your experience against the endorsement you’re seeking.
Reconstructing dates from memory is where most errors creep in. Work from written records.
How a Day of Sea Service Is Counted
The number you write in the grid is not hours; it’s qualifying days, and the Coast Guard has specific rules for what counts as one.
A standard day is eight hours of watchstanding or day-working, not including overtime. On vessels under 100 gross register tons, four hours earns a full day of credit. Anything under four hours earns zero. There is no half-day rounding.
A single calendar day can only count once, no matter how many hours you worked or how many vessels you were on. Sixteen hours does not become two days.
The one exception is vessels authorized to run a two-watch system under 46 U.S.C. 8104: certain crew boats, supply boats, towboats, and commercial fishing vessels where two watchstanding officers rotate six-on, six-off. On those vessels, a 12-hour working day counts as one and a half days of service. Outside that specific arrangement, hours past eight add nothing.
Apply these rules month by month before you enter anything on the form. The numbers in the grid should already be qualifying days, not raw hours divided by eight.
Filling In the Vessel Block
The top of the CG-719S captures the vessel data: name, official number, gross tonnage, propulsion power and mode, your capacity aboard, and the bodies of water where the vessel operated. Copy each figure exactly from the vessel’s registration or documentation. Estimates and rounded tonnages produce mismatches when the evaluator cross-references your entry against Coast Guard records.
The waters-operated fields matter more than they look. Different endorsements require service in specific water categories. A near-coastal endorsement, for example, requires a certain number of days seaward of the boundary line, and inland days alone won’t satisfy it. Break your days out honestly among Great Lakes, shoreward of the boundary line, and seaward of the boundary line.
Filling In the Month-by-Month Grid
The lower half of the form is a calendar grid. Each row is a month, January through December, with columns for the year and the number of qualifying days served that month.
Enter the actual number of qualifying days for each month you worked on that vessel. If your service on one vessel spans multiple years, use one form per vessel and write the appropriate year next to each month. At the bottom, total your days across all months to arrive at a final count for that vessel.
Then check the arithmetic. The Coast Guard cross-references monthly entries against your stated totals, and a math error that produces a mismatch triggers a deficiency notice that delays the whole application. Add the column twice.
Who Signs and What the Signature Certifies
Unless you own the vessel, someone else has to verify your service. The certification block is signed by the vessel’s owner, operator, or master, who confirms your reported service is accurate. The signer must also print their name, address, and phone number so the Coast Guard can reach them with questions.
If you own the vessel, you can sign the form yourself, but you must attach proof of ownership. Section 46 CFR 10.232 requires it without naming specific documents; a copy of the vessel’s Coast Guard documentation or state registration certificate is the standard approach.
Read the warning above the signature line before signing. Submitting false information on this form is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1001, punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. That applies to the mariner and to whoever certifies the service.
If You Use a Sea Service Letter Instead
The form’s full title is “Small Vessel Sea Service Form (Optional CG-719S),” and optional means you can substitute a letter. A formal letter from the vessel’s owner, operator, or a credentialed officer who supervised your work works as long as it contains everything 46 CFR 10.232 requires: vessel name and official number, gross tonnage, propulsion details, your capacity, dates of service, and routes. The letter also needs the signer’s name, title, address, and phone number, plus a signed statement certifying accuracy.
The form exists because it pre-structures all of that. A letter that leaves out any one required element will be kicked back. If you go the letter route, use the 46 CFR 10.232 list as your template and have the signer include the same false-statement acknowledgment the form carries.
Common Errors That Trigger Deficiency Notices
A handful of mistakes account for most CG-719S rejections. Vessel names or official numbers that don’t match Coast Guard records. Tonnage figures pulled from memory rather than the document. Monthly day counts that don’t add up to the stated total. Days credited for shifts under four hours on a vessel under 100 gross register tons. Two days claimed for a single calendar date. A missing signature or an incomplete signer address. Ownership claimed on the form without proof attached.
Any of these produces a deficiency notice, which resets your processing clock while you gather the missing piece and resubmit. Every field is worth the extra minute of verification before the form leaves your hands.