Look at lots of boats. Check out Boat Trader Online, Auto RV.com. Bass Boat Central, and your local traders too. I looked for 3 years before buying mine. Patience really paid off too. I'm so thrilled with my 1994 deep-vee. Not as impressive as a lot of newer boats but I could go on any body of water in any condition because of the freeboard and horsepower I have. Watch out for older bass boats with bigger engines. Especially if you suspect they've been used in tournaments. Most have been rode hard and put up wet. Stay away from dime store outboards too. Look at the overall floorplan of the used boat and imagine how it could be modified with minimal work. Rod holder locations, tackle storage, room for tools and oil, raingear, food storage, all these things will eventually be a part of your days on the water as a boat owner. Things that would be difficult and costly to change (rod locker length and trolling motor power and design for example) are important to note. I can put at least 15 rods with bags on the reels in my 8.5' locker. It also had a MinnKota Auto Pilot already on it. That caught my eye right away when I saw the floorplan.  I've added 2 Rod Savers, 6 Attwood flush mounts, 2 DownEast holders, a removable 2-piece rear casting deck which I built, 2 additional seat bases, a custom made tarp, and lots of misc. things that make it perfect for the family and me.

A final note...I'd recomend that whatever brand and style of boat you buy get as much horsepower as you feel comfortable with. This will enable you to handle bigger rougher water more safely and you can run the outboard at about %75 throttle most of the time and actually save fuel as opposed to running a smaller one wide open throttle most of the time.

Good luck and keep us posted......