We did two bare boat charters before we purchased. I highly recommend this because it's a way of testing the waters, so to speak, will you like the lifestyle? Type of boat you want, etc.
I spent quite a few years on the water with commercial fishermen during my job as a fisheries biologist. 25 years ago, I had a share in a sail boat, but hadn't handled a boat in years, especially a larger boat. My wife had no experience on the water. We startered things by taking power squadron together. Later, I had one of my commercial fishermen buddies take me with him when he was crabbing, I ran the boat while he pulled the pots, so I got to learn close quarters manoeuvring and docking. Pam did the women and boating course at trawlerfest.
When we did the bare boat charter, they checked us out and my handling skills we deemed sufficient for the charter and away we went. We respected our limitations, and didn't take chances with the weather or tides. The boat we chartered had steering issues. I'm not sure if the hydraulic fluid was down or the rudder was too small, but it was a "pita" to steer. Vessel systems were daunting, but we figured it out. Over the years I had spent a lot of time reading charts and relating them to land features. Also We had our iPads with us with the Canadian Hydrographics charts loaded, so navigation was not a problem. It turns out we never used the plotters on these boats, as our iPads served all our navigation needs.
The experience was worth it and reinforced our cruising dreams. It was one step in the process. We also learned a lot about what sort of boat we wanted. Were we nervous? Absolutely! But we stayed within our limitations, while still pushing the envelop.
Jim
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