Wally wrote:

Bad idea - too prone to error, typos, and varying interpretations on how a
name should be entered (like full name, acronym, abbreviated). The net
result is a potential for variations which would make searching more
awkward, since the searcher would have to try and second-guess the
variations and typos.

Yes, obviously it's not desireable - a pick list is much better
- but the question I'm trying to answer is: is generating such a
pick list for the main boat attributes realistic?

--
Grunff