Flats and near shore normally means oyster beds and sand bars.
I am another that suggests looking at Triumph and probably the 190 Bay or 170 CC.
Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the bashing fiberglass boats received from wooden boat owners, and the same is happening today with fiberglass owners on plastic boats.
I will be the first to say that Triumph boats are not for everyone, but they are for my family. AND – any boat is better than not having a boat.
True – Triumphs do have to be supported correctly on a trailer. Putting them on a trailer not designed for them can cause a problem. The key word is “can”.
True – Triumphs do flex, and my back and knees sure appreciate that fact.
False – Triumphs do not do well in the hot sun. The color is the same all the way thru the material, from top to bottom. There is no gel coat to crack, fade or polish (I like NOT polishing).
True – For cleaning, use a pressure washer or take it to a do it yourself car wash. Not much easier than that.
True – Many northern Triumph owners use hammers and baseball bats to remove the ice from their boats before trailering south for a winter vacation. Try that on a fiberglass hull. And while many of us will never use a hammer or a bat on our boat, it is my belief that most of us will hit a dock too hard or find something hard in the water to run our boat into.
What sold us is a local boat rental place that is still renting out old late 1990’s plastic boats. They store their rentals on racks designed for glass boats - not plastic. They keep replacing engines, but the boats keep going. They claimed that these boats have hit every oyster bed, sand bar, mangrove, bridge, dock etc. in Sarasota County and they just keep coming back for more punishment.
The Triumph Boat Owners web site is
http://www.triumphowners.net/. This site is designed for owners of Triumph boats to share information.
Just my opinion, but like many manufacturers, their product keeps getting better every year. Do your sea trials and pick rough days.
We still love our 2005 model and have had none of the problems other keep posting on this site about. Maybe we are just lucky, but based on the comments of hundreds of other owner’s I do not believe that for a minute.
Lost on the Bay Boat to get. 
You can option them out pretty well if you want options or just get a stock boat. 
