Sea Scout Boards of Review

What this page is

The Sea Scout board of review, from the completed requirements to the certificate, drawn from the Guide to Advancement topics 4.4.2.0 through 4.4.2.8, cited on every item.

The sentence to be careful with

The Guide says procedures for conducting a Sea Scout board of review are "very similar" to those for Scouts BSA, and then lists, topic by topic, which ones are identical and which carry an exception. It is worth reading that list rather than trusting the word similar. Four differences change who may be in the room.

For Apprentice, Ordinary and Able the board is the quarterdeck. Three to six of the ship's youth officers, chaired by the boatswain, who also selects the other members. Two registered adults aged 21 or over must be present as advisors — but they are not members of the board.

The Skipper and mates must not sit on a board in their own ship, and may serve as the two required adults. Both sentences are in the Guide, and they agree, because an advisor is not a board member. Acting on one without the other is how a board ends up composed wrongly.

A Quartermaster board is an Eagle Scout board. The Guide says the particulars are identical with a few exceptions, so the whole Eagle apparatus applies: the local council must verify the application before the board sits, three to six members all aged at least 21, a district or council representative if the board is held at the ship, and one board of review only. The one addition is that every effort should be made to include a member who is familiar with Sea Scout advancement.

Every age moves. Where the Eagle topics say 18, Sea Scouts read 21. The Guide states that; it is not an inference.

What the review is for

To determine the quality of the candidate's experience and decide whether the youth is qualified to advance. It is not a retest and not an examination. The primary reference is the Sea Scout Manual, and the Sea Scout must also keep the Sea Promise. Approval must be unanimous, and the date of the board is the effective advancement date.

What can be appealed

A Quartermaster denial can be appealed, by the Sea Scout or a parent or guardian, to the local council; appeals go on from there to the National Program Committee. The Guide states that only the Quartermaster rank may be appealed beyond the ship. It does not set out any route for Apprentice, Ordinary or Able, and this page does not invent one.

How to read the graph

An arrow points from the thing that has to happen first to the thing it unlocks. Nested items are part of the step above them rather than steps of their own. Dotted lines are recommended order carrying no obligation; dashed lines apply only in the case written on the arrow.