My wife, Candy, and I went through this 26 years ago. We ended up buying a 21-foot Bayliner with a cuddy cabin. We bought the bigger V-8 engine so we could ski, and we had a small outboard to troll with. The boat was towable, so we took it to Lake Chelan and Lake Washington and skied, fished and cruised. We went to the San Juans to fish and cruise. We enjoyed cruising the most and bought a 32-foot Bayliner, then a 39-foot Carver, which we still have, for cruising, along with a skiff for fishing.

If you are not sure, buy a boat that can do it all; see what you like. Then you can continue to do what you like most in your first boat or change boats later to one that fits your favorite activity. In smaller boats, a cuddy cabin is required for overnight cruising. If you are going to bring friends or family, have them bring their camping gear and go to one of the many state parks that have campgrounds. We have done that, and it is lots of fun.

If you are ready to go bigger for your first boat, your skiff can certainly be equipped for fishing. And if you can carry a big enough skiff with a big enough outboard, you can ski and fish with that. We have fished from our Carver, and when we are moored I often fish from the skiff.