Superman had trouble with the plane because he had been out of practise for a while. However, one will argue that he is invincible and super strong so that shouldn't change. I think that they wanted to make Superman "more realistic" so to speak by creating an atmosphere in which he appeared to have limitations. While most die hard Superman fans didn't like that, I think that us average joes appreciated it. However, picking up the boat by the back side was just silly!