please brief me on these boats

Can someone please brief me on how an older 20’ Wellcraft boat performs? What is the allure? There must be something pretty special since this whole website is devoted to such craft. I have seen a couple of 20 footers on Craigslist recently. These are open fisherman, center console boats with a big bracket for the outboard. The bracket looks huge and might make an ideal dive platform. I haven’t seen one in person yet though.
One boat I may take a look at this weekend is a 1977, there is another boat available of as yet, unknown year of manufacture. Both these boat represent at least an hour drive. It is a simplistic question to ask, but are these really great hulls?
I’m a diver and boat mostly within a few miles of land here in Florida. I generally don’t like to go out if the seas kick up much. The ride in and out of the inlet can be really hairy on even a 2’ swell if the wind and tide are doing their thing. The standing wave at the mouth of some of our inlets can be really nasty.
How well do these boats perform in such conditions? If anyone can give me the heads up on what to expect to pay, that would be great too. I’m not too interested in the outboard motor at this point. I’m figuring on getting a good hull and replacing the motor pretty quickly. Is 150hp sufficient to push one of these things around? Are they any better for any reason than a more modern hull?
What are some of the things to look for in terms of what goes wrong with these boats? Are there any special inspection techniques to find hidden problems?
Anthropisces