Ran a Hewes bay boat for 3 years, 150 Suziki w/ poling platform and trolling motor. Sent it down the road. Too clumsy in the shallows and not especially adept in sloppy condition either. Read that as "wet".
Also ran a Hewes Bonefisher down in the Keys for about 6 years and did everything with it you can do with a bay boat. Flats, diving, offshore for Mahi and tuna...nothing I couldn't do with it that wasn't easier and cheaper than with the bay boat.
I might add I'm a fan of "smaller is better" with boats to the extent practical. Quality of construction, design rule. Hull design is 90% of everything in successful and proper function IMO. Light weight is my mantra.
It's all about compromises. I agree with DD on the small and light ... provided you've got a hull design that's appropriate. I ran a small light boat in Alaska for ten years and it served me extremely well. It was the perfect compromise for the different types of fishing that I wanted to do.
I'm not familar with the Hewes Bonefisher but I looked it up online and it has all the features that I'd want in a "bay boat". Sharp V up front, wide flat stern, very nice lay out and it appears to be a quality boat.
Bigger can be better but then there's the compromise on cost. They're substantially more expensive up front and depending on power options they can more expensive to operate.
