Hello all, new to the forum. I am going to replace my metal flat boat with a larger boat that will hopefully handle the bay chop in Trinity and East Bay better than what I have now so I'm less nervous taking the kids on the water in the chop. I know everyone will have an opinion about what boat and why but what I am really wondering is what type of draft, running draft and holeshot depths should the boat I buy have to be able to fish these areas. Do I need a boat that will run in 6" of water or scan I get away with a boat that needs 2' of water to get up in? I haven't been fishing in these bays very long, so I don't want to spend a pile of money on the wrong type of boat if I could have asked the question and got the answer.

Thanks all!

Good news, there's a LOT of choices.
Bad news...there's a lot of choices.
First, what is your preferred style of fishing? Stab the boat off and wade? Anchor up and throw bait? Getting shallow and tossing lures?

What's your tow vehicle?
How many people do you need to carry?
Any thoughts about ranging other bays?
How old are the kids?

Start there, should narrow the field a lot.

I generally throw artificial lures from up in mud flats to chasing birds out in the bay. My fishing buddy loves to wade (I have no idea why, that's what we invented boats for!) so I am sure we will do a little bit of that, especially if I go with a boat that cant get into the really shallow water. I have a 3/4 ton truck so I am not limited there. 80% of the time it will be me and one buddy, although as kids get older I can see having 5 or 6 ppl, 4 of them being kids in the boat if the boat will carry that many. I like near Beaumont, and I can see myself fishing in Sabine or maybe Galveston from time to time, but as far as going down the coast to Matagorda or into LA its just not gonna happen.

Thanks!

Are you looking new or seasoned?
The first item to consider is the hard fact that what makes a hull run smooth also makes it run deep. Anything that can run in 6" is also going to beat your liver loose in two foot chop. Smooth AND Shallow don't exist.

Shallowsport's X3 checks most of your boxes very well. They know it does and it is priced accordingly.

I will share what I know. I think any Mako ProSkiff or LTS model would fit your use.
I run a ProSkiff 17 all over East Bay and stay dry most of the time.
A V-Hull will serve you well except for the shallow flats at low tide.
A skiff will get you about anywhere but will ride a bit rougher.

my two cents. get a pretty deep v hull. like a Mako, Whaler, Kenner or even Grady White. Trinity and East Bay can be pretty sporty. the older i get, the more i appreciate the comfort of a smooth, dry trip.

Ok, given the information, Here's the first batch I'd be looking at.
Gulf Coast variside. Adequate shallow abilities, really dry ride. Mike Gilley builds a top quality hull.
Transport 21' Cat.
Flats Cat 21'
Haynie and Shoalwater 20' cat hulls.

Why choose these?
All are capable of running in 8" or less water. So what? I'm not going that shallow. Actually yes you will, and here's where that ability comes into play. Remember wave height is 1/2 the water depth. So, a 6" wave is in 1' of water. When you see waves flatten out, you KNOW it's shoalwater and steer around it. You KNOW 10" chop is safe to run through. You KNOW a dark bottom is deep enough to go through, a white sand bottom is not.

Wading/drifting areas. Nothing is harder than climbing your fat butt over the side of a high sided bay boat after a three hour wade. And nothing rockets through a drift like a empty sack of fritos like a high sided boat.

All of those hulls are proven Texas bay performers, and all can be adequate in any bay in the state.

How would the boats suggested above handle if OP wanted to go out a few miles and fish a rig or platform?

Don't mean to cloud the discussion, just a combination of ignorance and curiosity on my part.

Apples and bananas...
So, I've seen 12' johnboats fishing rigs ten miles offshore. Does that make a 12' johnboat a offshore rig? In theory, yes. In practice, not so much.

When we start asking our boats to do multiple tasks, you always end up with something that actually does nothing well. A big high sided deep V offshore rig is a disaster in a Texas bay, you really can't get outside a channel marker, you can't really drift a flat with reefs and grass. Dragging your carcass in and out to make a wade is at best difficult.

Likewise, getting caught in a mid summer squall when you're ten miles out in a low sided bay rig is really low on the fun scale too.

My best advice? Figure out what you'll be doing 75% of the time, and fit your boat to that. You'll be happier compromising on the 25% of some use, than compromising on the most use.

I fish shallow stuff, back lakes, reefs and places we can sight fish redfish. I make zero compromise to be able to do that. I do suffer crossing the bay in big waves, no more than three people can get on my boat, it's the most important tool to do what I want to do, the way I want to do it. The next guy might decide he doesn't need to go to the back of 5th lake, and he wants to tote six people, four hundred pounds of ice, and ride in comfort. They make a boat for that too, but he's not going to go where I go, so there's your compromise.

Solid advice!

Look at something like a Blue Wave 24ft. It’s going to do what you want. Any boat you get will have some compromise. My buddy has the 4 ft Bluewave with 300 Suzuki. Get the Suzuki. Awesome motor. If you want to fish a number of people out of the boat length is always good. For wading it’s not going to run very shallow but you can idle into skinny enough to get out wading. We wade out of it no problem in East Bay. Make sure you get a ladder.

Another good choice would be a 25ft Majek Extreme. It’s going to be better skinny let rides good in the rougher stuff. Lower side boat so if you have young kids the Blue Wave would be better. I have. a Majek Extreme 22. It’s a great boat anywhere along the gulf coast. We go from Port Mansfield to the Chandelier Islands in it. Does good everywhere. No boat is great everywhere. I love the boat. We like to wade fish.you can fish 3 out of the boat pretty well.

East Bay and Trinity can get big and rough.So if you want to go all the time and pick a day get a higher side deep V. If you can pick your days more then ride is less important.

If you want to fish more than 3 don’t get a T-Top. Don’t go low on motor size just to save a little.Just about everyone who does that regrets it. Get the I Pilot Terrova Trolling motor.

Boat prices are ridiculous right now. I had a guy offer me $10K more than I paid for my Majek when I brought it new 2 years ago.

Buying the bait based on what you do 75% or more of the time is solid advice. If you buy the 24ft Blue Wave it’s going to be great in East and Trinity. If you end up once in a blue moon in the LLM it’s going to be just ok not ideal. If you lived down there you would want something like a Majek Illusion.

If you think you like something find someone or a guide that’s running what you want and get out with them for a day. You don’t want to make a mistake buying something that’s ridiculously price.