Not sure what Wellcraft you had, but I had a 180 Fisherman with a 150 Merc Opti on it and it was great for the wife and kids, actually quite a fun boat.

18' seemed like a good size, easy to handle, trailer, and launch. It handled well and it would take a fair bit of chop.

Funny you mention the Bayliner/Robalo connection, there was a time when they were made at the same plans, but that was back in the 90's or so.

I've got a 1995 CCF218 Wellcraft - it was a $1200 Facebook Marketplace special so I have no complaints about what it is. It’s just not the right the boat for what we need. Just lots of small things as to be expected and I just want reliability so I don’t get calls at work in the middle of the day when something goes wrong. I have no complaints on the Wellcraft brand - my father has a 27 Coastal and I am shocked how nicely it rides…..

I am going to shoot for something a bit bigger than 18. I hear you on the size but we live right where the Chesapeake bay meets two tributaries so it can get a bit snotty and sometimes we cut across there to get to a local lunch spot so want a bit more length.

We are heading to West Palm for the month of February and of curse wanted to bring a boat with us. Nothing in the fleet worked out very well so I bought a solid old 26' Bayliner Rendezvou that has a 4 year old trailer and a 4 year old Suzuki outboard. I am putting a new interior and bimini in it, doing a total rewire, and repainting the exterior and new rub rail. I had the shop completely go over the engine and the axles/lights on the trailer. I have watched these at LOTO for years and they are battlewagons. All in I will have about $13k in it, plus some of my labor. This is not the best boat for you, but maybe you can find something older with good, newer 4 stroke power that needs a little work. If your kids help you fix it up, they would certainly have a better understanding of the boat and the mechanics of it, making them better overall boat owners for the future. There are a ton of good boat brands out there with many of them not having any wood in them. I would be more concerned about the power. Just my .02, but sounds like fun!

Those old bayliners are tanks. I see them all over the lake still.

Boston Whaler.

Joe

17' Mako with a 90hp. Merc/Yamaha

Classic