First off, hello all.  Been a member for a while but don't post much.  The wealth of information is fantastic though, and I owe a lot of my angling success last year to this site, so sincere thanks is an order. 

  As for my boat question, I am having a hard time deciding what type of craft and motor I should be looking at getting for the area I will be living in and the types of fishing I will be doing.  Couple this with my complete inexperience with boating aside from personal watercraft, and I am not even sure where to begin.  Soon, my wife and I will be moving to the area between Hanover and York PA.  I looked at many of the lakes in the area, and most are electric only.  Lake Marburg seems to be the only major lake nearby that allows gas motors, with a 20 hp limit.  Nearby is the Susquehanna, which I would hope to fish as far upstream as possible, all the way down to the flats by Havre De Grace.  Furthermore, my parents live in Southern Maryland, and while I understand that whatever boat I end up with will most definitely not be good for the open waters of the bay, I am hoping to find something that I can simply tow down there and fish the more sheltered areas of the bay, as well as portions of the Patuxent (especially near the Benedict Bridge down to Solomons Island) and the Potomac (upstream from Point Lookout). 

   Now, due to my inexperience, I am not sure if there is a type of craft that would fit the bill for all of the above situations.  Obviously, pushed to choose, I would want a boat that I can use more often closer to home (the lakes and Susquehanna).  My main concerns will be safety, ease of handling, and room enough for two people to stand comfortably and cast or three people to sit and fish together.  In my mind, I am picturing a 16 foot Deep V or Mod V with at least a 15 horse motor and a 55 lb. thrust trolling motor.  I will have roughly 2500 to 3000 grand to spend up front, and of course, money here and there down the line for modifications (but want to avoid making monthly payments).  I certainly want aluminum, and for the price, used is my only option. 

   So, in closing, am I on the right track for the type of boat, or do I still have no idea what I am talking about?  Also, should I bother looking at used boat dealers, or should I just go through craigslist or other similar sources (if there are any you recommend, please let me know).  I have looked through the information through this site, and as I said, I love reading through, but advice for my location and with my limitations in mind would be very helpful. 

48 looks and nobody has bothered to help you. Here you go my friend.

The area you're movin to is within striking distance of several good fisheries. Note I didn't say great.

You said in your mind you pictured a 16' V hull w/ a 15 hp.

That's the wrong picture. Erase it from your mind. Permanently.

3 grand ain't a lot to buy a boat with, but if it's all you got to work with, it is what it is. You're on the right track thinking aluminum. Look for a used Tracker with at least a 40 or 50 hp on the back. At least you'll have a decent platform to fish from. Be prepared to dump some money into it when you get it. For 3K, you're gonna get a boat that's probably due to have some of the components replaced.

As far as the restricted hp lakes, you don't want to base your engine size just to meet that silly requirement on a few lakes. Just use your electric motor. Like most of us with larger bass boats have to do. You can also put an additional electric motor on the transom if'n you need to. Besides, on a restricted HP or electric only lake, you don't have to fish the whole lake, just do it a section at at time.

As far as actually locating a boat, the internet is full of them, and you can call all the local boat yards & marine dealers as well. When you get your boat, PM me & I'll point you to some water that's more productive than most.

If'n by chance you found one & were serious & it's close to me, I'd be glad to check it out for you.  I'm always willing to help out a beginner, as long as you're nowhere near my home lakes.

Like stated above, do not for any reason base your choice on the HP restrictions of the bodies of water. Look on Craigslist and i bet you will find a great deal for $3000. I have found all of my bass boats on that site for amazing deals. The key is to do as much research as you can and be patient. Great deals can be had if you have patience.

It sounds to me like you're not looking for frills so I don't think a 16' V is off track. They're durable, light, often decked, handle rough waters better and easy to tow & store. Plus, you're more likely to find one, fully equipped, for 3k on Craigslist than good shape bass boat.

Yep, definitely not looking for a lot of bells and whistles on this craft.  In fact, the idea of a 16 footer with any kind of gas motor is a step up from my original thoughts of a small jon boat with only an electric.  A large part of the reason I wanted to go a bit bigger was because of the safety factor (just welcomed our first into the world, and if he is even a fraction as klutzy as his mother, we'd need a cruise ship sized deck to keep him dry).  Also, since this would be my first boat, I'm more concerned with getting the handling basics down first, then adding other items or steps in after.  I just figured that sixteen feet would be a good size boat to start with and "grow in to" as a beginning boater.

As an aside, for a sixteen footer, with regards to the myriad electric only locations, how much power do I need from the motor, and how long could I expect it to last as long as I'm not running all over the lake?

48 looks and nobody has bothered to help you. Here you go my friend.

Maybe the 48 people who viewed the thread didn't think they had an answer that would help this gentleman. 

In answer to your question, if you want to fish in the bay buy the biggest motor and platform you can with the money at your disposal.  For the smaller lakes, you can always use the trolling motor as others have stated. 

I know you said that you want to avoid making payments  but if it were financially possible for you to use the $3000 as a down payment and make payments on the balance of a good used boat you could probably get something that you could use on most bodies of water.  However, if money is too tight or layoffs are a possibility in the future, I agree with your choice of avoiding payments.