Topic drills
A topic drill is a shorter voice session with the AI examiner on a single area of your syllabus — between 10 and 60 minutes, to build mastery one topic at a time. Here is how a drill differs from a full mock oral, who it is for, and what it costs to try.
A voice session on one topic from your oral syllabus. You pick the topic and the length — 10, 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes — and the AI examiner asks you questions out loud on that topic while you answer out loud.
A mock oral is the full exam rehearsal — you pick 90 or 120 minutes — with no coaching and the examiner running the room. A topic drill is study mode. In the app's words, the examiner will 'probe, hint, and explain' — it is slower than a real oral, and you get the reasoning at the end of each question.
So a drill is where you learn a topic, and a mock is where you find out whether it holds up under exam conditions.
The topics of the syllabus for your ticket. The App Store listing names areas such as the COLREGs, buoyage, lights and shapes, stability, cargo work, emergencies and legislation. The app recommends topics for you, and when it fills a drill it prioritises your weakest sub-topics.
OOW Unlimited (STCW II/1) and OOW Yachts under 3000 GT. The App Store listing names those two orals, and also describes the app as for cadets and crew working towards their first deck officer ticket.
The App Store listing names OOW Unlimited and OOW Yachts <3000 GT. If you are sitting a different oral, check the current list on the Bridgedeck Study page before you subscribe.
In practice: a drill when you have a short gap — between watches, say — or one weak topic to close; a full mock when you want to know whether you can keep it up for the whole length of an oral. Your topic mastery shows you which topics need the drills.
Set your qualification first — the app builds the topic list from it. Then choose a topic, choose how long you have today, and start the session.
As in a mock, every answer is scored and you get the transcript of the session afterwards. The scores feed your topic-by-topic mastery and your overall readiness score.
No. Your voice is never stored: audio is processed in real time, and only the text transcript of the session is kept. Under our privacy policy, transcripts are kept for 90 days from the session or until 30 days after your exam date, whichever is later, and then deleted automatically.
Yes, separately from the voice drills: written multiple-choice drills of 15 questions on one topic group, with an explanation after each answer. They are described on the Part A practice page.
You can try one: the app's 15 minutes of free voice practice, with no card required, can be spent on a topic drill. After that, topic drills need a paid plan. The App Store listing sets out what each plan includes and what it costs.
Free, with no card: the COLREGs drills, the flashcards, and 15 minutes of voice practice with the AI examiner. Everything else — voice mock orals and topic drills beyond those 15 minutes, Part A practice and the written drills — needs a paid plan: one of the subscriptions, or the Exam Pack. The App Store listing sets out what each plan includes and what it costs.
No. Bridgedeck Study is on iOS only: the App Store listing says it runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with iOS 13.0 or later. There is no Android version at the moment. On Android or a computer, the free COLREGs quiz on this site runs in your browser.
The notices change. Always check the current version on GOV.UK before you apply or book.
Study and Logbook are both live on the App Store. Open either to get started.
