Do not take a pontoon or tritoon into the ocean unless you want to sink it. Especially obx.

Anonymous wrote: ... instead, stand in a cold shower and tear up $100 bills.

We have a small fishing boat and used it quite a bit over the last ten years. I need three hands to count the number of people we’ve invited out to fish and they bought a boat within a month. Within 2 years they invariably get rid of it usually because they never used it and/or hated the maintenance and care. Love your analogy! Maybe I’ll use it to create a stencil to spray on the back of ours.

I would look at Carolina Skiffs or a used Key West 1720. Perfect for what you are describing. We just got a Key West 239 FS. It was an upgrade from our last boat which was 21 feet.

Yes, boating can be an expensive hobby. It's fun though, and DH is big into fishing. We mostly boat on the Potomac, from Mason Neck. We usually like to go south rather than north back towards DC. There are some fun beaches and coves to explore. I can't wait for warmer weather.