At an age when most kids are just starting to learn the alphabet, Isaac Perry was getting his feet wet in a different kind of classroom with his father.

“His claim to fame was that he and I sailed across Buzzards Bay when I was four years old,” Perry said. “I don’t remember that obviously, but that’s what he tells me.”

When he took over as Marion’s harbormaster on Jan. 1, Perry had a lifetime of experience to draw upon. In addition to the childhood sailing, there was an education at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and 12 years as the town’s assistant harbormaster.

“I’ve always worked in or around Buzzards Bay my whole life,” Perry said.

During his time in the Marion Harbormaster Department, Perry’s knowledge and professionalism impressed Selectmen. When Harbormaster Mike Cormier announced retirement plans last year, board members opted to forgo a search and promote Perry.

“I’ve had an opportunity to see him work, and I think he does an outstanding job,” Selectman Jody Dickerson said at the time. “He’s perfect for the town of Marion.”

Being on the water suits the Mattapoisett native, who holds a degree in marine transportation.

“Growing up we had a little sailboat in front of the house that my father used to teach me how to sail,” said Perry, who now lives in Rochester.

Married with five children, Perry said he gets his kids out on the water when he can.

Meadow Island in Sippican Harbor is a favorite spot. Small and uninhabited, the island is a good spot to tie up at low tide, he said.

Before arriving in Marion to be the assistant harbormaster, Perry worked in Dartmouth in a similar role.

Following his promotion he’s now responsible for 1,700 moorings, 30 channel markers, three boats and an expanse of ocean from Sippican Harbor towards the center of Buzzards Bay and the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal.

“Most people think of Marion and the Cape Cod Canal as being pretty far apart, but for us it’s right around the corner,” Perry said. “So it’s quite a bit of water that we’re responsible for.”

And patrolling that large area is a big task for the department, which normally has three full-time employees, but has been short staffed the last few months.

“It’s a big responsibility,” Perry said.

This time of year things are mostly quiet for the department, and it’s when clerical work is the focus.

In summer, there are approximately 2,500 boats in the harbor at any given time when private docks, transients, the Beverly Yacht Club and the town’s various boat yards are taken into account.

“You can barely see the water on some days there are so many boats,” Perry joked.

In addition to patrolling the harbor, Perry said his department has a variety of duties – everything from fighting boat fires to search and rescue to pumping out sinking vessels.

For Perry, being a jack of all trades is one of the position’s perks.

“That’s what I love about this job, you get to do a little bit of everything,” Perry said. “You can have a medical [emergency] one day, be fighting a fire the next day and build a dock the day after that.”

Looking ahead, Perry said no major projects or changes are on the horizon for his department. Maintaining boats, docks and equipment should be enough to keep his staff busy in addition to their other duties.

“The image of the harbormaster smoking his pipe, standing down on the dock, that’s changed quite a bit,” he said.