[Gerry Zagorski]

Welcome and smart of you to do some research before jumping in.. If you plan to make trips out to the mid range grounds in the mudhole for tuna and mahi you'll need a more capable boat with the fuel range to do that. Depending on where you're starting and how far you want to go, that could mean anywhere from a 50 to 100 mile round trip so you need to be sure the boat has the fuel capacity to do that.

Sounds like you want a trolling motor up front and if that's the case, you probably want a center console since mounting a trolling motor on a boat with a cabin, although it can be done, is much more difficult to install and deploy...

In general I'm thinking you should be looking at something in the 21 - 25 foot range, preferably a closed, not open transom with an outboard. Depending on the size of the boat, you're probably looking at something in the 200 to 300 horsepower range and a more modern 4 stroke would be best. They are more reliable and get a lot better mileage than an older 2 stroke... The motor brands I'd be looking for are Yamaha, Mercury or Suzuki. I'd stay away from the modern Evinrude's since they are no longer in business, the parts can be hard to find and the G2s are very problematic.

Good news is the boat market has cooled off a great deal since the crazy run up in pricing around covid and the fall is one of the better times to be buying as well...

As far a the Carolina skiff, they've come a long way but many of the earlier ones had fairly flat bottoms and you want something in the deep v or semi deep v for a better ride in choppy or steeper seas.

Answering Duff's questions above will give us the information needed to give more pointed advise...