I am looking to get a bigger boat. I primarily fish freshwater here in TX but a few times a year I am in the gulf side of TX or Fl and would like to be able to have a bay boat. I have seen several guys using a CC in tourneys so I know it happens. My question is what are some of the considerations I would need to have in switching between salt and fresh in regard to the motor, electronics, etc.
Everything would obviously need to be able to handle salt.What else should I be thinking about that I'm not? I am looking in the 18'-21' range. Nothing to fancy but fishable.

PM sent.

I live in the DFW area and got a Triton 22 bay boat for exactly what you said. I will fish lakes 90% of the time and head to the coast 4-5 times a year. You can basically do anything a bass boat can, except its a little slower, not built for massive speed With a 200hp I can easily do 40 and thats fine by me. It rides better in rough water and will work better for tubing or hanging with the family. I have a saltwater trolling moter which obviosly works fine in fresh. When using in salt i will flush the motor and spray off the trailer. not much else to worry about.

Winning answer. That is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks dude!

I bass fished out of a triton bay boat before getting a bass boat. They work very well but do sit a little higher off the water causing the back to catch wind this makes it a little hard to control, Also the storage is not quite as good. I fished a tourney one time we had 4 to 5 foot swells it was alot smoother ride on those big WAVES THOUGH.

Exactly what walkerac said

send me a pm if you have questions, im happy to help
also - Im a striper fisherman and the boat is great fro lake texoma

A Hayne is a good boat for both.

Here is what you need:

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=478971

Several manufacturers like Hayne or Lake and Bay make something similar. Also Ranger makes a Bass Boat for salt water called the "Intracoastal".

Biggest draw back is that boats without carpet get really dirty every time you use them.

last few times out I wished I would have been in a bay boat.

My dad is in your shoes but he lives on the coast and wants something he can bass fish out of very easily. Like they said most bay boats have taller side and will blow you around a lot. The tritons rangers champions kenner blue wave and skeeters all have the taller side and small front deck space. My dad is looking at the Florida style boats. Lake and Bay boats are basically made for that. They have big decks tons of storage and will hang with the fastest bass boats out there. Majek 22 extreme and the 20' Sterling are some others to look at. I wouldn't get anything with a tunnel. It's not needed and cuts down on your top end speed. All the electronics are the same just when you fish in the salt was and flush everything! I personally like no carpet a lot better. Makes cleaning a lot easier. But bottom line bay boats will do just fine for bass fishing.

Look at some "flats" boats like the guys above suggest. There are the flat plywood style more common in Texas but what I'm talking about is very common in Florida for poling and such. They have large decks, are more low profile and a mod v. There are several manufacturers depending on what you want to spend.

I fish salt and fresh equally out of my Haynie, if you fish a lot of trees the smaller bass boat is better, but I do enjoy the room with kids.

I have a 18' Ranger that I fish in the spring time with, once the spawn is over I mainly fish out of a 22' Nitro Bay boat. The bay boat can be tough to manuver thru the stumps, but I really love the bay boat. Just take a 5 gallon bucket and wash it down as your heading back in, so easy to keep clean, so much room. I do have to downsize a bit on the tackle, but I don't think the fish mind!

I have a Ranger bass boat here in Texas but I have a Ranger Cayman 191 in Florida....it's built like a bass boat but with a small center console (sit down to drive it) and a poling platform in the back.....it's a great all around boat I can take to the lake, fish the flats, and I've even had it in the gulf