I went through this a couple years ago as well. I ended up not buying. What I did decide was the 17' Bayliner (I know...Bayliner!) Trophy Dual Console was the closest thing to the perfect fish (more fish than ski) ski boat. It is a deep hulled open bow family boat with a nice deep draft. They quit making it in 2001 or 2002, but I was able to find a couple still new on boat trader. Below is the URL to one.
http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/9/6/64300696.htm