[quick decision]

I can remember a couple of times coming back and the winds pick up to 25-30. Can make a hell of a ride back, like you said. I have a path set on my gps from Thief's ledge(N42* 16.56' W070* 46.97') which is between Boston Light and Pt. Allerton(Hull) to the NW edge of Stellwagon(N42*25.00 W070' 28.00') the depth finder goes from 278 to 104. This is a 19.6 mile run that can be done in under an hour. I can remember a few times taking two hours to get back in some nasty S@!T. This is in a 1988 20 thompson. Once I turned around just to see a 5 footer almost crash over my transom. After a half an hour of throttling up one wave and backing down another I got home. There are a hell of a lot better boats in the 20 foot class which would do better. I was thinking a longer boat would not fit in between the troughs and ride up the other wave. The price also jumps a hell of a lot from 21 to 25+. A heavier boat will punch through, but thats not always the best fishing boat for stripers. I dont do a lot of offshore fishing, but I do like to explore the offshore. I am looking for a new boat. I am almost done with a deal for a 1996?. I don't want to jinx myself so that's all I will say right now. I given my new boat a lot of thought. Its hard to tell what these 20-23 footers limitations are. Does anybody have any more experiences they would like to share?