Welcome to the Lake and to the forum.
Are you sure their is a "temporary" safety certificate? I know the rental places do something for the day.
The good thing about winter harbor is the relative weather (wave) protection it offers. It can get a little busy at times. Winter harbor is probably only about 2% of the lake so you might outgrow it pretty quickly depending on your interest. If that happens the area outside of WH is fairly simple to navigate. Find the middle ground shoal on the map if you do head out. If you get ambitious, a trip to Wolfeboro could be fun.
You sound very conscientious about your performance and that is the best first step. Not sure what size or type of boat you will be "learning" on but that can have some impact on your experience. When we learned how to boat, we started on a smaller lake called Winisquam with a rented pontoon boat with an undersized motor. Hard to get into to much trouble driving the equivalent of a golf cart around the mall parking lot.
When we came to Winnipesaukee for the first time we also rented a pontoon with a bigger motor. It still took us an awful long time to go from Meredith to Wolfeboro. But we loved the size and complexity of the big Lake. As you probably know, navigating the markers and not getting lost is one of the challenges on such a big lake with rocks and islands. Winter harbor does not have many markers and it won't take long for you to memorize your neighborhood. You will defiantly need a map if you venture very far.
The nice thing about boating is it is not completely like learning to drive a car. You don't have to go fast if you don't want to. Imagine how much easier learning to drive a car would have been if you could have started out at 5 mph on the highway. Fishing boats go slowly all day long and the rest of us drive around them.
Docking the boat can be the toughest part depending on the dock, boat and weather. Having a calm first mate can be a very big help while you do the heavy lifting with the motor. Dock slow. Don’t be afraid to back out and try again. (I still do)
The best newbie advice I got from a very long time boater that has helped me and all of my trainees is to remember the difference between a car and a boat in the way they steer. On a car you turn the front wheels to get the front of the car to go the way you want. On a boat the front of the boat can’t turn. The rear of the boat turns. When you want the boat to turn left the only way to do it is to move the back of the boat to the right. Sort of like pushing a wooden block across a table with your finger. It makes a huge difference in getting the boat to do what you want at low speed in tight quarters if you can think of it this way. While driving around the lake, you just turn the wheel like normal driving. A boat is like driving a fork truck, the back swings around to get the front to go where you want.
I would imagine one of the challenges of learning to get comfortable will be learning while entertaining. Pulling a kid in a tube can be a whole lot more challenging than simply driving the boat and keeping 150 feet from other boats, watching for wakes, markers, and other people who might not be following the rules. If it was me I would not do the tubing thing until you feel very comfortable.
I hope you enjoy your experience at the lake. Look forward to your future post and feedback on your progress. Be safe. Have fun. Spend Money.
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