Editor’s Note: The author of this book, Daniel Harding, Jr., is Editor-in-Chief of Boating’s sister publication, Power and Motoryacht. –K.F.
For many young boaters, the first trip away from the dock is about more than learning to handle a boat. It’s a rite of passage—a chance to trade a little uncertainty for a whole lot of adventure. Boy and a Boat: Facing Fears and Finding Freedom, by Daniel Harding Jr.,( captures that experience through the eyes of Connor, a young boy eager to discover what lies beyond the dock.
Connor has the desire to explore, but there’s one thing holding him back: fear. With encouragement from his family and a small inflatable boat of his own, he begins to discover that courage isn’t about eliminating fear. Sometimes, it’s simply about pushing off from the dock anyway.
The tension created by the opposition of Connor’s desire to captain his own boat and his fear and self-doubt about the same thing, mark Harding as a storyteller as deft at writing as he is at the helm of his Bertram. The premise gives Boy and a Boat an especially appealing message for boating families. The water can be exciting, but it also demands respect, responsibility and a willingness to learn. Connor’s journey reinforces those lessons without turning the story into a safety manual. Instead, they’re woven naturally into a warm tale about growing confidence and discovering independence.
The inflatable boat becomes more than a prop. It represents Connor’s first taste of boating freedom—the ability to venture out, experience the water and begin building memories of his own. In fact, the boat is a metaphor for life and Connor’s realization that he must take the helm. For parents, like myself, and grandparents who have watched a child experience that same mixture of excitement and apprehension, the story should strike a familiar chord.
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At its heart, Boy and a Boat is a coming-of-age story in a nautical setting. But its message is universal: Being brave doesn’t mean you’re never scared. It means learning how to move forward despite those butterflies in your stomach.
That’s a lesson that applies well beyond the marina. But for young readers with saltwater in their veins and far horizons on their minds—or those just beginning to discover why boaters are drawn to the water in the first place—it makes for an especially fitting introduction to the spirit of boating.
Warm, accessible and built around the timeless appeal of adventure, Boy and a Boat reminds us that sometimes the biggest journeys begin with the smallest boat—and a little courage to leave the dock. Your kids will love it.
So will you.
Boy and a Boat: Facing Fears and Finding Freedom
By Daniel Harding Jr.
Independently published, 2026
