re: Bayboat 22 vs 23-25

I think a lot of it has to do with how many people you usually fish on your boat, and how comfy you want them.

We usually fish 3-5 people, and occasionally a dog. Most of us are in our 50's, and we stay on the water quite a while every trip. Fishing to us is as much a social thing as anything, but we often do pretty well on the meat haul also.

Had a 22' that sufficed most of the time. A choppy bay would beat us up, and I was more concerned about the boat's age/integrity as I was the size of it in regards to offshore stuff. I'd never second guess someone being comfortable in their 22'.

I wanted newer, and was pretty sure that bigger would be more comfortable, so I went with a 25.6. Zero regrets so far. No noticeable differences as to how shallow we can go, and it rides substantially better on a choppy day. Not promising a bigger boat will change your sex life, but my advice is to buy as big as you can afford if you plan to fish 3 or more people consistently.

Two younger men fishing all the time? Save your money, get a 22', put your life jacket on and hold on!