Among the questions I get asked is "How big a boat can we handle? The calculation to determine this is … Well of course, there is NO such calculation. You can handle the size boat you can. Some two person crews manage very large boats but that doesn’t mean, "If I can afford it I can drive it". That’s like postulating that since I can afford a 16-wheeler I’m qualified to drive one on the Interstate highway.

This is not a predicament exclusive of boat owners. I was reading a flying magazine recently. It discussed pilots moving up to higher performance aircraft. The problem was not the speed or performance of the plane. The inexperienced pilots could quite quickly adjust to the feel of the plane in the air. The major adjustment was in staying ahead of the plane in terms of navigation and control during landings, take offs and other in flight maneuvers. It’s not only boats and planes. I saw an RV owner pull his Dragging-a-Car rig into a tight space that resulted in "check mate": followed by uncoupling the car, backing out and the resultant embarrassment. Had they been a maneuvering a hundred + tons of boat… well you get the idea.

Driving the boat is not the problem, stopping it is. Approaching a strange dock with the tide and wind running against you is. Realizing at the last minute that for whatever reason you don’t have room or time is.

This diatribe is simply a caution that you will be driving a big piece of machinery: capable of crushing small boats, destroying gas docks, and truncating large municipal piers. None are cheap. No matter what the salesman says, proceed with caution. Don’t assume it is easy. People who’ve spent a lifetime afloat are often surprised by the unexpected.