🔍 Key Concepts

• U.S. lateral system (IALA-B) – how port (green) and starboard (red) aids are marked when returning from seaward • How a bifurcation / preferred-channel mark is colored (banded green and red) and what the top color tells you • The standard dayboard shapes used for green (port) and red (starboard) marks in the U.S.

💭 Think About

• First, decide: with a green-and-red banded mark and the uppermost band green, which side is the preferred channel when returning from sea – to port or to starboard? • Next, recall which basic shape is used for that side in the dayboard system: is it square, triangular, diamond, or octagonal? • Look at each option and ask: which shape matches the normal shape of a daymark for a green aid in the U.S. lateral system?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which side (port or starboard) a mark with green on top indicates as the preferred channel when returning from sea • Confirm from your notes which shape is used for green port-hand daymarks vs. red starboard-hand daymarks • Be sure you are thinking about daymark shapes, not buoy shapes or light characteristics