Hallucination -- the briefing is about 2 hours, maybe a little less.... I am probably in the minority, but I appreciate the thoroughness with the boat briefing. They go over all the systems on the boat in great detail, at the end you will know not only where all the switches are but also how each system works and, if there is a problem, where to find the source of it and maybe even how to fix it. For me, much easier to get on with vacation if I can just quickly fix any small problem that may pop up versus calling for outside assistance.
Having said that, the biggest problem we have ever had on one of the IYC Island Packets was a shower drain that started draining slow, but, since they showed me where the strainers were during the briefing, I took care of the problem in a couple of minutes myself. I think that was about 2 or 3 charters ago...
They have some pretty cool people working there at IYC.
Just be patient during the boat briefing. They way I look at it, if I am going to spend 10 or 12 days "out there", it is worth a couple of hours to understand everything about the boat.