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Just moved to PA and I am looking to buy a new boat. I love the FL bay boat companies, Shearwater especially. Anyone around here ever use them on the Chesapeake Bay for stripers.
True bay boats dont have the freeboard to be comfortable to fish the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. They may be good for in the summer when getting wet is a non issue but the best rockfishing is in the colder months and bay boats can make for an uncomfortable day on the water. It is also nice to have the freeboard to lean against when fishing in the chop too. We get a very short, steep chop on a regular basis in the open bay. Due to the water we experience offshore boats tend to be more popular than bay boats here. Of course there are boats that tend to cater directly to the waters of the chesapeake bay that offer shallower drafts than offshore boats but are still designed for large open waters. For example, Judge Yachts (maryland based company), Parker Mod Vs, Steiger Chesapeakes, Maycraft. etc also are popular and have a good following.
Most people I see run boats from 25 ft to about 31 ft in length. In contrast, on the Del. Bay which is normally rougher than the Chessy you will see alot of 16 and 17 ft stuff. I'd go with 25 to 31 because of the larger boats being everywhere and throwing larger wakes. Bob
You really need to figure out what kind of fishing you want to do. If you are going to be big into trolling, I think a pilot house makes a ton of sense. Judge, Parker, Steiger, maycraft are great fishing machines. If you are like me, and want to cast and jig and fly fish, I think center console is the way to go. same names apply.
of course the bigger names like Grady, BW, also come to mind. Tell us how you want to fish, and we can be of more help
I have fished on a pilot house in the winter and the boat works really well. But, I have a 209 grady center console and just purchased a 222 grady center console. The 222 will be getting curtains made in a month or so and these work really well in the winter. You may need to bundle up in a center console but I love the ease of being able to fish off the entire boat. If I were fishing mostly in the winter, go with a walkaround or a pilot house but if you want to fish in the summer also the center console works great.
Matt
mine (24' albemarle cuddy) is fantastic on the troll and handling the snot when running, but those same characteristics make it extremely tender on the drift or at anchor.
The cuddy is apreciated by the family (porta-potty) and good for storage, but it is difficult to get up front to set/retrieve the anchor, can complicate life at the docks, etc.
Its suitable (actually made for) offshore fishing, but not for skinny water, with a 3' draft.
This boat, though only 24' is also pretty heavy, and at the threshold of what I'd try to tow on any regular basis, without having to buy a new tow vehicle for that dedicated purpose. (live in south-central PA, and ended up putting boat in dry storage at a marina in the Middle River this season, really like it so far).
The there's the power options- outboards, stern drive, inboard- each have their pros and cons. ( I have a 350 w/ volvo duoprop outdrive)
My best advice is to either buy a boat that you know will be a "starter" boat, or resist the urge for now and fish on other people's boats until you find the one that will work best for you... Great time to buy a gently used boat at a great price.
A friend of mine says you need 5 difft. boats ranging from kayak to offshore machine to 'adequately" cover most fishing situations!
Best boat for Chesapeake Striper fishing 
