What type of sled you need depends on several parameters. Do you fish mostly alone or most often with one or more buds. The more people jthe bigger the boat and the bigger the motor. Do you fish a variety of water? The columbia for sturgeon and smaller rivers for salmon and steelhead.It tuff to manuever a 18-20 ft boat on small water. Do you want a little protection from the elements or strickly open and unprotected? As you can see its not a simple question.
I'll tell you my thoughts; I fish more often alone (I have a lot of weekdays off). I have a boat I can handle alone with ease.I fish all kinds of water from the columbia at bouy 10 to the fast water of Beacon Rock for sturgeon. I also fish smaller rivers like the Nooche and Hump. I have a sled that has a high front end that allows for rough - open water use without gettin beat to death running it. I have a windshield, since I am often alone and no other eyes to help see, which is very important runnin rivers. I have a canopy pullup top to keep the sun off me while hoglinin salmon or fish summer sturgeon, or the rain in winter. Nice option. It's 16ft so i can run the little rivers but built bigger for its size to handle the columbia. I fish a Wooldridge Alaskan. Plus the bottom is designed not to fishtale when making tight turns. I have never had it break loose. Figure out just how much and what types of fishing this boat will allow ya and have fun shoppin! More than likely though......you'll wish you had 3 or 4 different boat types and make sure you got plenty of power.