Red Rascal
So, how are you going to get to Powell River? On a tight schedule basis getting to and from your charter point is an adventure in itself.
I would suggest local knowledge is golden, there are two ways you can get to Powell River, kind of like how the people from Powell River get to Vancouver.
Method one, the slower way:
Take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, then up to Comox and take that ferry to Powell River. I only include this for others who might want to do a similar trip and want to see something of Vancouver Island. Or you could overnight in Victoria (see the town) then motor up to Comox.
Method Two, what the Powell River locals do - but what do they know?
Take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale (think of it as Gibsons), this is a short ferry by BC standards, roughly half an hour, too lazy to look. Then the next ferry further up from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay.
I link the Google map illustration of both. The slow route according to Google is 5 hours is 5 hours 11 minutes and the faster way is 4 hours 8 minutes.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hor...938b58623!2m2!1d-124.5247061!2d49.8352352!3e0
I have only run into Americans who are nervous about the Strait of Georgia. I guess it is that for most of us living along the coast, eg Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Courtney/Comox, Powell River, et. al. we see it constantly, some of us every day so we know that most the time the Strait is relatively placid. In the summer, sailboaters are cursing it as the wind is famous for not showing up, coming in too lightly, or disappearing later in the afternoon (some say this is intentional so a cocktail hour can be observed without disturbance).
Based on comments worried about risk, here are some none charter boat related risks:
1. You vehicle could explode with that dangerous gas tank.
2. You could have a collision in your vehicle that is some one else's fault and die.
3. The ferry you are on could break down and you are stranded on the water for many hours (this has happened more than once).
4. You could arrive at the ferry without reservations and discover the line up is so long you won't be able to get on till the next day.
5. You could get caught in Vancouver traffic and there goes the schedule. [Take the truck crossing at Blaine and take the road going straight to the highway and follow it in. You can still run into irritating congestion, but less so than driving through Vancouver].
I say all this in half jest, its my way to say, don't over think your trip, a lot could go wrong, but based on probability, you'll have a happy incident free trip. Just get out there and do it. Or as Martin Luther once said: "Sin boldly, young man!"