I was following the controversy about carrying guns in airline
cockpits for a while and some interesting things came up.

My own personal experience working in a hospital emergency room
confirmed some stuff that came from law enforcement sources that guns
are not actually a very good way to stop someone quickly. If you are
an expert shot, maybe, but the average nervous scared person probably
won't so much good if they actually pull the trigger. The law
enforcement source said the rule of thumb is that, once someone is
inside (I think) a 30 foot radius, the holes you are likely to make
will not slow the attacker down enough to prevent them from hurting or
killing you.

When I worked in the emergency room, we had someone come in saying
that he wasn't feeling quite right. The checked him out and could
find nothing wrong. He went out to call a cab and dropped dead. Then
they found the hole.

Guns may be good for keeping people off your boat and that probably
requires something big and intimidating like a shotgun. Once they are
aboard they may be too close.

Stun guns OTH, according to what I was reading about aircraft, stop
attackers instantly. They might be a better choice for a boat.

A female friend of mine used to drive alone through very bad areas of
New York years ago. Her boyfriend gave her a small gun and what I
think was good advice. Don't let an attacker see it or threaten him
with it. If you need to use it, keep it concealed in your hand and
make sure the muzzle is touching his skull when you pull the trigger.

Me, I think I would just keep a very large box of flares and say I was
worried about sinking.

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Roger Long