Much thanks to the many people who have sent me feedback on my services, updates on their vessels, or updates on their handling abilities after allowing me the privilege of sharing my knowledge and experience with them through my 4-Hour Handling and Safety class. I love teaching, and I especially love watching the pieces click together as the things I am explaining start to make sense.

Please send me a note if you would like to share your thoughts with other potential clients such as these people did below.

This might be some of my favorite feedback ever.

This is exactly why I do what I do. 

From Christian McGowan in the Summer of 2021 –  

“Hi Chuck,

I hope this finds you well and you are ready for the 4th of July. I wanted to share a quick story and more importantly a thank you for your help. Stephanie and I took the boat out on Monday to see the fireworks here in Detroit. The weather was spotty but we were pretty sure we’d be OK. As you might’ve seen right around when the fireworks were about to start a huge storm rolled in quickly and unexpectedly. We got all the way back to the marina but when we were about 50 feet from our slip the storm slammed us. Within minutes it went from calm to monsoon rain and 30 mile an hour winds. We were out with a group of friends and you could tell they were concerned as it was their first time out with us on the boat. As the wind started to blow us away from our slip, Stephanie and I quickly realized how solid your advice was. We were pushed up against the wall and instead of trying to overcompensate and fight the wind we hooked on to the wall, stayed calm and wait it out the rain. Within 10 minutes it pasted and we were easily able to pull the boat into the slip without anyone getting hurt or any damage being done to our boat or any other boats.

After the fact we are able to laugh about it and we were saying to each other how much we appreciated your advice and how much you helped us in that moment. I’m sure you hear this a lot but almost every time we go out we talk about you and the tips and advice you gave us. You’ve helped us become better boaters and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.

Thank you again for all your help and have a great rest of your summer.”

What a great story! This is exactly why I love teaching people to safely operate bigger vessels. 

Thank you so much, Christian and Stephanie!

From Christian McGowan, new boat owner and handling and safety class attendee on Lake St. Claire in the Spring of 2020. 

Christian and Stephanie contacted me for help adjusting from a smaller, single-engined vessel to their newer 36 foot Sea Ray Sundancer. We spent close to 5 hours working together on a chilly, overcast day in April of 2021. There wasn’t much wind, but their slip is at the end of the fairway with little room for mistakes. 

We covered all of the ship’s systems and best practices first, including the reasons for checking the bilge for fumes, the best options for startup and operations, and of course, the Four Rules. Which, due to working with Christian and Stephanie, have now become The 5 Rules. 

We spent the rest of the 4-hour class practicing docking and handling procedures before we snuck in a nice ride out on Lake St. Claire between rainstorms and covered drive trim and trim tab operations. 

Thanks for the kind words Christian, it was a pleasure working with you both!

From Donnie Watson regarding a delivery and my handling and safety class in Sept., 2020.

Donnie and his father requested my services to help them move their recently purchased 2009 Tiara 3900 Sorvan from Holland, MI to its new home in East Tawas, Mi on Lake Huron.  

We had a heck of a ride, big water for the whole trip up the Lake Michigan side and even cut one day a little short to duck in to Leland for the night because we were taking such a beating.

No complaints there, Leland is one of my favorite ports on Lake Michigan.

However, we made the rest of the trip without incident and after getting the boat tied up in her new slip, I stayed over in East Tawas to teach Donnie my four-hour handling and safety class the following day. Here’s what Donnie had to say. 

“I would highly recommend Captain Chuck. Going from a 23 foot very simplistic boat to a 39 foot vessel that is more complex comes with a huge learning curve. We hired Captain Chuck to drive us from Holland to East Tawas Michigan which was 377 miles. During the voyage, he was instrumental in explaining the operation of such a complex boat. His instruction was thorough and very professional. He took great care being sure we understood how to navigate safely and confidently, even in the most challenging circumstances. He was patient in answering our questions and mindful that we were new to operating a boat with so much detail. If you’re looking for an experienced professional consider no other than Captain Chuck.”

Thanks very much, Donnie!

From George Coonbeer regarding the delivery of his beautiful 44-foot Hatteras MY from Northport to Grand Haven, MI in May of 2020.

My occasional co-pilot came along for the ride on this one. Although we got off to a rocky start due to the effects of Covid-19 on marina operations, Northport Marina pulled an extra guy off a job to help solve a trip-canceling problem on George’s Hatteras while we sat on our backpacks and bags outside of their office in the rain. 

We got underway late in the day and just made a short run around to Leland. It was a good test run and gave us just enough of a head start that we were able to complete the journey the following day.

Although we hit a little fog and it was a wee bit chilly, the boat ran great and we had a nice ride. 

George had this to share –

“I used Chuck Warren to deliver my 40 foot Hatteras from Northport, MI to Grand Haven MI in May of 2020.  Chuck was easy to do business with, his rates were fair and he did the delivery exactly as he laid it out.  On time and on budget.  I would do business with Chuck again.”

George Conbeer, Great Looper

Thank you, George!

Many, many thanks to Beth Swain for pointing out that I was missing a referrals page, leading me to create this space for people’s comments.

Beth requested my services to move her Carver down the Michigan coast. We had a beautiful ride on flat calm seas for most of the trip, until some fuel issues caused us to stop for a bit and drain some filters. Thankfully, I travel prepared and we got the boat going again to finish up the day in St. Joseph. 

Even more thanks to Beth for the things she has to say below –

“I just wanted to write a quick review of the services that I received after hiring Chuck on a few occasions. I purchased a Carver 33ft last fall (2015) and hired Chuck for some lessons. I spent 20 years in the Navy so I’ve had tons of instructors in my time. I was also a certified instructor in the military but I have to say that Chuck is one of the best I’ve come across. He takes his time, he reads the student well, he remains calm, and he easily changes his approach based on the individual he’s teaching at the time. I strongly recommend his services for teaching any aspect of boating to the novice or someone who just needs a little fine-tuning.    

I requested his services again this spring (2016) to help me relocate my boat 120 miles south. His professionalism in everything he does is admirable. We had a beautiful day as far as the weather went but we did have some issues with the performance of the boat. Again – Chuck was amazing. His mechanical knowledge allowed us to keep making needed adjustments so that we could finish the trip.

I will not hesitate to hire him in the future if the need arises. He went above and beyond by documenting, in detail, the problems we encountered with the boat so that whoever I hire to correct the fuel/starboard engine problem knew the specifics. I appreciate the extra effort and he did this without me requesting it.

I’m not sure I can put enough emphasis on how good he is at what he does. If you’re looking for a Captain – this should be the one you go to without hesitation!”  

Beth Swain, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer (Retired)

Thank you so much, Beth!