Sea Trial is a must! The one time I did not, I got smoked. Seller knew exactly what he was doing too. Another time I had a short sea trial on a DONZI in the winter in Louisville. Two inches of snow on the ramp and 30 degrees.
Just wanted to make sure the hull didn't have any strange handling characteristics. It was a short cold ride but it checked out. Too much to risk with these boats. Too many people that will tell you things that you need to see for yourself.

Used boats break NO MATTER what and there are plenty who have had surveys and sea trials only to have unexpected breakdowns.

I've bought MANY motorized toys sight unseen, without sea trials, without test drive , and I never waste money on a survey, etc.

If the overall value is there and you love it there's other ways to make sure you feel like your getting a good buy.

Depends on your level of research and knowledge, how much trust is built with the seller, etc.

If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy to get a survey, leak down & Compression test, and a sea trial PLEASE do. You may also enjoy a subscription to consumer reports ;-)

I agree buying a used powerboat is going to be expensive to maintain with or without a sea trial. If your intuition about the boat's condition and the seller's integrity is there buy it! It's a boat.

A sea trial is important to me, just to check handling characteristics and whatnot but being as you are in Tampa, you can forgo one or search farther south so its not an issue for the seller.

I have never done a sea trial on any boat I have bought. and I have been a boater since 1974. I guess if you are smart and know a lot about boats. You can't go wrong.
If you are worried about it, fly out and see the boat. Take a good look at it before you buy it. Make sure it's good

Keep I'm mind that depending on the storage situation the boat may not even be able to be taken out of storage till spring. Lots of times if the boat is stored indoors at a marina/ warehouse it might be blocked in by dozens of boats. You're knowledge of boats and the type of boat comes into play as well. If it's a common type factory rigged boat, there shouldn't be any unusual handling conditions that show up during a sea trial. The last time I bought a boat without a sea trial we agreed for me to hold onto several thousand of the agreed sale price for a few months until the boat could be used. Any necessary repairs were to be taken out of these funds. It all worked out well, but of course this takes a level of trust and honesty between the two of you.

Bought my 37' AT with a thorough survey, leak down, etc but no sea trial. And it was local and it was June. HOWEVER, I planned to do a lot to it after purchase and it had Merc power. and a known hull design with a local builder that new the boat. I had zero regrets and a great boat.

My Skater a had a THREE DAY sea trial because I had a great seller that WANTED me to be sure it was what I had hoped. It had been out of sight for a few years and had some relatively large and custom power. I had a survey after the deal was done and that was mostly for insurance notes.

The point is, if you know a decent amount about the boat and the seller, if it's a standard version for the builder, a good survey and mechanical may be enough. I would still be present for the exams though.

I've sea trialed all the boats I've bought. One time was in Feb. in Maryland, another Nov. in CT, and even a brand new boat. Unless the local waters are frozen, I would expect a sea trail.

I have sea trialed all of the boats I've purchased and had my last surveyed even though it was only one year old at time of purchase. The survey found a minor blemish that the seller readily fixed on his dime. It was worth the survey. IMO, based on your two top choices of a ZXO and 288, I'd do as much research on the boats now but wait until spring for a proper seatrial. 288's come up for sale often, the ZXO is a little more difficult to find but both are IO's and you won't have a clue if they were properly winterized unless you run them in a seatrial and not just a hose for a few minutes. It's hard to do but patience now can save you a lot of heartache, aggravation and $$$$ down the road. Good luck.

Was buying a boat 12 hours away. Got there go on sea trial and guy wouldn't open it maybe 3500rpm this boat was a race boat. Thought this was odd but it's not my boat yet. Idling in someone was looking out for me as the drive let go. I still took the boat home with the promise of owner fixing drive. Owner only wanted to pay 500 bucks on a 5000 repair, then to top it off 2 holes had zero compression now i got why he was driving like an old lady. This guy knew exactly what he was doing and it almost worked. I was young and the guy said he was going to sue me. Ended up hauling the boat back 12 hours on my dime. My hope is karma bites this guy hard what an ass.