I think you misunderstood. Keri and I are talking about taking a friend/guide with you - in your boat - to learn how to avoid dangerous obstructions and situations on a new body of water that has such hazards. That way you're driving and mapping trails on your own GPS. It's even more important when traveling to/from the channel and from the bays and shoreline, where most hazards lay and aren't marked.
I know of a few places on the Columbia, for instance, where the GPS mismarks the channel. You can destroy your lower unit and risk serious injury if you follow it. You'd think following the channel markers would avoid that, but it's not marked well, and many boaters every year run up on those places. There's also places where obstructions are IN the channel, and not marked on any map or GPS unit. If you look at them, you'll see marks on the rocks from all the prop strikes.
Those are the guys spending their summer off-the-water while their boats and bodies are being repaired - the ones who have expensive repair and medical bills now. You know, the guys who thought they were smart enough to "figure it out" themselves.
