Skiffman,

It's a legitimate question. Loomis missed the point of your question as you are wondering about saltwater applications and a drift boat obviously is not the answer-didn't you say your buddies already have driftboats anyways?

Interestingly, I have not one but two friends who were in the situation you are now. One owns a 20' North river, the other had a 19' Wooldridge. Both fish year around fresh and saltwater......I have the driftboat so that end is covered. As it turns out one sold his for a 24' bayliner trophy because a) he fishes more saltwater than freshwater and, b) the bayliner offers a much better ride in waves out in open water; more freeboard too. The other guy kept his sled because he was just the opposite-he mainly fishes steelhead salmon and sturgeon in freshwater. Not a good application for a fiberglass ocean boat!

So there you have it. Ultimately, you have to be honest with yourself and decide where the majority of your fishing will occur with or without your buddies and go from there.