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[canso]

I use my 16' jon for everything, Lake fishing, river fishing, ocean fishing crabing and prawning.

[Jewelz]

You find it stable and comfortable enough in the salt?

[canso]

If you compare bottom width, a Jon boat will be more stable than a v boat.
Jon boats also tend to be wider then most v-boats making them more stable.
I do get wet if the waves pick-up and the wind is blowing from the side.
Any boat without a windshield will get wet.
what ever boat you choose, get the widest possible. width is everything.

[Jewelz]

The boats we've been looking at range between 68"-78". That should be wide enough right?

[canso]

sounds like it should be wide enough.

my beam is 86" and bottom width is 66".

What size power are you looking at?

[Jewelz]

20 HP.

[roseph]

if you're mainly fishing in the salt I don't think anyone would recommend a jon boat, you need the v-hull to cut through the waves.  However in terms of comfortability I would say that jon's are generally more comfortable than v-hulls as long as there's not a big chop.

When I first started looking for a boat I was looking for the same thing, something that would do well in lakes, the salt, maybe the harrison and fraser.  But really there isn't many boats out there that can do all of that well, there are just too many factors to consider (weight, trailer or no trailer, etc.).  The only one that I know of has already been recommended, the Lund modified v-hull preferably with a jet on the back.

[Jewelz]

95% of the time that we would go to the salt is just to drop some crab pots in the bay (Tsawwassen, Boundary). The other 5% we might troll the lower fraser or maybe head just a little way from the shores of Van and Richmond.

[Sandy]

then I'd go with a Vee for sure.
 Couple of weeks back, spent part of a day on a 14 jon, I've been considering one for years, but after that trip which, got a bit choppy and an A-hole screaming past us, I'm canceling that idea.

not even sure I'd venture out in anything bigger than a puddle with one.

back to the drawing board, or garage, just as soon as I get some free time.

[Jewelz]

Let me clarify... The time spent on the water would be 75% lake and 25% ocean. Of that 25% in the ocean, 95% would be just dropping crab pots while the other 5% would be trolling the river or just off the coast. Make sense?...

[coldfinger]

Canso,
 nice pics! And yes it just goes to prove any boat will do the job if handled in a responsible ,informed manner.
And your Jon looks very nicely appointed. For inside waters on a nice day it looks like the ticket!
 
CF

[canuckjgc]

Did you say family of 6? All at once?  25% ocean?

No way you want a jon boat.

Assuming you have kids, the freeboard is *way* too low.  I switched to a higher side/higher freeboard boat and I'm much more comfortable with the kids in it.

Also, there is no boat for all situations.  Don't underestimate the salt and the Fraser - the water can get rough and with little freeboard and no V, you will be hurting and scared.

Do you want to fish the bigger lakes or only the small ones?  The bigger ones like Pitt, Stave and Harrison can get very rough.  Even Alouette would be no fun in a jonboat.

Not sure why you want a new aluminum boat - those are the ideal boats to buy used, and you can get a lot more boat that way.

If you don't mind getting a bit wet and you're just going out and back (without beaching and exploring), consider a bigger inflatable from someone like seabright.  At least it is very seaworthy for its size.  

I had a 16ft Lund SSV that was pretty good for water around here, but I still found the freeboard low.  It was seaworthy though, but not terribly seakindly.  I agree with the beam comment above - the more beam the better.  78" is pretty marginal, especially if you have kids aboard.

[canso]

20hp might be small with 3 adults,
a friend has 14' princecraft with a yammi 25 and it has trouble getting on plane with three of us, has even more trouble when fishing higher lakes.

[Jewelz]

The kids wouldn't be with us in the salt.

What about bowriders like bayliner, searay etc...

[troutbreath]

The kids wouldn't be with us in the salt.

What about bowriders like bayliner, searay etc...

What type of vehicle are you towing these with? Trany jobs and big boats go hand in glove. Same with burning tires out trying to get your boat out the water. Just things to consider.