After reading all the previous posts I realized that I'm an "aspiring player". All of the boats I've been on have been owned by either my father or cousin. Growing up my dad started with an 18' MFG (early 70's maybe even 60's) with an OMC I/O that seemed to be nothing but problems that he inherited after my grandfather passed. I remember many of days my grandfather and him working on it before granddad passed and many more days he worked on it afterwards. But once it was in the water it was a good little no-frills boat. Caught my first bluefish (about 14 lbs)on that boat trolling with a Cisco Kid when I was 8.
In '85 he and my mom bought a 19' galaxy bow-rider. That lasted until we got caught in some mildly rough seas (3 ft) and on the way in slighty dipped the bow through a wave or two.
So the next boat they bought was a 20 foot '86 Regal. Closed bow (dad's preference) with plenty of creature comforts (mom's preference). Very versitle boat. Not really a fishing boat, but we made due.
In '92 mom & dad went on a "bigger is better" kick and bought a 26' Bayliner. Turned out "bigger" wasn't really "better" and in '96 they bought a Wellcraft 23 Excel. A very fishable boat with just enough comfort to keep mom happy, though over the years her interest in boating has fadded a bit.
My cousin has had 3 boats over the last 15 years between 17' and 20' (his latest).
For the last few years things have come to a point in my life where I can finally have a boat of my own. I wanted a '20 boat that could handle the the lower Chesapeake Bay and the coastal waters comfortably. I'd seen plenty of V20s roaming the bay and liked the hull design as well as the open layout so I went looking for something similar to the V20. I never did see anything similar in new boats, but I did see the high prices (+30 grand for a 20' boat????) on top of not seeing a layout that I actually liked. Which led me to look for a used V20. The one I came across is now my first boat. It's the '71 V20 sitting on the side of my house waiting for me to restore it. Unfortunatly time and work space hasn't been on my side, but I'm working on fixing those issues. So until I actually splash my V20 I guess that makes me an "aspiring player". In the meantime I'll keep reading the posts here for encougement and ideas as well as putting in my two cents every now and then...
Oh, yeah I'm 33 and wanna-be-boataholic! 8)