Craftmaster insignia The Craftmaster insignia is a decoration of the United States Navy which is awarded to those personnel who have qualified as underway boat captains of U . S . Navy small vessels and support craft . Such boat commands which would qualify a service member for the Craftmaster badge include tugboats , Landing Craft Utility ( LCU ) , Landing Craft Air Cushion ( LCAC ) , Lighterage craft , dredge s , scow s , and 44 foot yawls ( Navy 44s ) . The Craftmaster Badge is mainly awarded to Navy senior enlisted personnel in the Chief Petty Officer ranks , usually Boatswain ' s mates and Quartermasters where they are assigned as Officer in Charge ( OIC ) . It is also a common award to those who are qualified as harbor pilot s . The Craftmaster Badge is not presented to those have qualified to serve on board navy coastal warfare boats , as such personnel receive the Small Craft Pin and the Combatant Craft Crewman Badge . The Craftmaster Badge is also awarded to qualifying staff officers and a select few midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy , the United States Naval Academy , and a select few Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps schools . Midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy qualify on the Academy ' s training ship , T / V Kings Pointer . The midshipmen who traditionally qualify are the midshipman officers on board the training vessel . Staff officers and midshipmen at the Naval Academy can qualify on the flotilla of Yard Patrol Craft ( YPs ) or on Navy 44 yawls as part of the off - shore sailing program . Staff officers typically earn the badge as part of the rigorous off - shore sailing program . Most of the midshipmen who qualify are members of the YP Squadron , a midshipman - led extracurricular activity at the Academy focused on cultivating leadership and the development of professional mariners for the Fleet . Midshipmen crews practice onboard Yard Patrol Craft and execute out - of - area trips to regional ports . On both the YP and sailing craft , earning the title " Craftmaster " requires a few hundred hours spent living , working , and training on board . Midshipmen dedicated to earning the badge aboard a YP are paired with an advising officer ( usually a navy lieutenant ( O - 3 ) ) as they take navigation and seamanship tests , prepare nautical charts and underway briefings , and perform complex and highly - technical maneuvers in adverse conditions . For the final examination , or " qualification ride " , the head of the Department of Seamanship and Navigation ( a navy commander ( O - 5 ) ) , personally reviews the command presence , naval skill , and seamanship knowledge of the aspiring midshipman as demonstrated through a pre - determined course on the Severn River . Despite the rigorous and time - consuming workload involved with earning the badge , it is not uncommon for a midshipman to fail the qualification ride . Midshipmen who gain the qualification while at NROTC units are trained on small sail training craft . A NROTC midshipman in command of the sailing training program at his or her respective university will have to spend an extraordinary amount of time working on the boats , conducting training , and planning week - long voyages .