I'm with Jason Y. I do have a boat but it is fairly small (under 18'), fairly light, and fairly fast. I have a 90 HP Yamaha 4 stroke on it and that is the best thing about it.

Of course, I'd like a bigger boat and I'm really ready for one but the gas issue is slowing me down. The cost of running the boat has tripled with gas prices and getting a bigger boat would mean twice the engine and even more gas.

It really depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it. Personally, I like being about to go 30 mph to the fishing spot, fish, and go 30 mph home. To do that, you really don't need to dump a lot of money into the boat as long as you put the money into a reliable motor.

Other people don't mind going slow and doing the 12 mph thing with a cuddy. I can see how that would work for some people but it just isn't my thing. If you like that though, you can find older boats for practically nothing. I just saw a 1977' Fiberform that looked brand new and had a complete engine rehaul. They were asking $3300.

When in doubt, buy a 17' Boston Whaler or other classic style boat. If you don't like it after a year, resell it for what you bought it for.