I had a 1984 sportsman 248 red and white with full inclosure with a very thirsty 235 johhnny on it that I ran for years very hard with no issues other than a soft spot behind the fish box which was a design error that the 248 had. A $50 trip to west marine and most of a saturday fixed it I now have a 240 coastal with a 225 johnny that is probably the best fish boat I have ever had including some high dollar ones. I like the 240 coastals which replalced the old 248 because they have the wash downs, live wells, outside fresh water shower and sink ,seperate coolers,cutting boards on each side ,euro transoms and huge fish boxes , hard tops with spreader lights and rocket launchers etc but they are both excellent boats and you can pick them up cheap compared to other boats in the same class. The 248 was a small kids family camper boat or mini cruiser that while it had a huge fish box it was not really set up as a fish boat like the coastal.I added an RV pump and plumed a salt water wash down that recessed flush right at the sea gate and installed a half assed live well inside the huge fish box that worked pretty well..They are very stable boats that can take a pounding and you still see lots of them out in the big blue...Frank