For (small) inland lakes you might find it difficult to trailer a 30' boat. Stick to a 24' to 28' and be sure to have a good tow vehicle, i.e. PickUp. Power should be a single big block engine with the 24 or 26' boats and twin V6 engines when you get to 28' + size boat. Gasoline engines would serve you better than diesel as service may be an issue with the diesel. In Ohio, diesel is more expensive than diesel and any savings in fuel use is often lost.
If slip stored, a 30' + boat could be a good fit. If you must go under bridges, be careful of height. On the Portage river (Ohio), one of the road bridges has a 10-11 ft clearance while one of the rail road crossings is only 5 ft. I often get tired waiting for the RR bridge to open. If you value sleeping space in the cabin, a Convertible-style boat with a flybridge is very comfortable. However if you want rear deck space for entertaining, an express-style might fit your intended use better.
One of our boating buddies had both a 34' X and a 34' convertible. She liked the Convertible because of the interior size, but disliked the rolling motion of the flybridge (sat on the rear deck when running). He likes the X because of the larger rear deck, speed, and lack of rolling motion. They currently wish that they had kept the 29' Silverton they sold when they upgraded to the 34C. The larger boats 30+ feet are gas hogs and only get about 1 mpg. Smaller engines with stern drives get much better fuel economy, 1.5 to 3 mpg, but have higher annual maintenance costs. Inboards like deep water (keeps shafts and props straight ) while I/O and outboards can work well in shallow waters.
Enjoy your boat hunting. As the saying goes "it is one the two happiest day in a boater life"
erie_guy
32' Chris Craft express w/twin 5.7 VP SX drives.
Port Clinton, Oh
