The Lake Erie Charter Boat Association (LECBA) has their annual conference the first Saturday in March each year. It is held at the BG Firelands campus in Huron. A lot of useful information can be obtained there. As others have indicated, there is a whole lot more to it than the boat. I am not a captain, but first mate for 3 different captains and have seen what they must go through. The physical is 10+ pages, and if you suffer from Type II diabetes or other issues it can be very difficult to get your license in the first place. I'm not telling you what to do; just trying to make you aware that it is not nearly as simple as one might think.