John, a 26 foot boat is a fairly big first boat. Do yourself a favor,
find a friend who is an experianced boater and ask him to come with you
on several trips, to "teach you the ropes". Have them teach you how to
dock the boat (with wind and tide), pull up to a gas dock and
navigation. The Power Squadron is a good idea, but they won't teach you
how to handle a boat. Boating is a lot of fun, but hitting someone
elses boat while attempting to dock, while everyone is watching, or
being towed back after running hard aground, can take all the fun out
of it. Don't underestimate it, operating a boat is nothing like driving
a car.