Wow...what a comparison! Two completely different boat types with completely different use patterns.
As Tashasdaddy said, I don't think you know what you want at all. Maybe we should revisit your goals for your boating. Realistically, what do you think you're going to do with your boat? Realistically.
Given that you've been looking for a couple of years, and still haven't bought a boat, I'm betting that you'll end up using up garage space rather than using the boat.
I don't think I could stand not having a boat of some kind. If I didn't have any money, I'd watch Craigs List for a freebie and get back on the water.
If you're just in love with the idea of boating, and are satisfying your urge by looking for a boat, then you're on the right track. I'd add some boat shows to your quest.
If you really, really want to go boating, buy something that floats and has a working engine. It probably won't be the boat you'll be using two years from now, but you'll at least be on the water. You'll find all sorts of things you don't like about it, and will be smarter the next time you buy a boat.
Given the enormous range of boat types you've mentioned here as possibilities, you're simply not going to know what kind of boat you'll finally like until you start driving your boat around.
There are no boats that don't make noise. There are no boats that don't bounce around a bit in rough water. There are no boats that combine suitability for river fishing, lake fishing, and ocean fishing with water skiing, tubing, and cruising. None. There are no used boats that can't stand a little sprucing up to make them feel newer.
Buy a boat. Don't spend a fortune. Just buy something that floats and has a running engine. Get a cheap boat, then use the heck out of it. After a full season of use, sell it and buy one that will better suit your needs, since you'll have discovered what your needs are in that season.
Get wet. Get dirty. Get bounced around a little. Go slow. Go fast. Go fishing. Have a picnic on an island somewhere after pulling your boat up on a beach. Tie up at a local restaurant that has a dock and swap stories with the others who have done the same. Drag someone around on a tube for an hour or two. Dive off the boat in some quiet cove and swim around, then climb back in and speed away. Get a sunburn on your face because you forgot the sunscreen, then watch it peel over the next week. Kiss someone on the water somewhere.
Mix some fuel and oil. Change the oil in a lower unit. Put in some spark plugs. Bang the boat against a dock on a windy day and look at the scratches that caused. Clear weeds off the lower unit of your outboard or outdrive while hanging off the transom. Curse a rock that has dinged your prop. Curse the anchor that snagged up on a rocky bottom, then go buy a new one and and a new rope.
Come back to the launch ramp on a day where the wind came up while you were out and struggle to get your boat back on its trailer. Get some help from another boater, and help another boater. Forget your pfds and have to drive home to get them. Forget your boat key on your dresser and have to drive home to get them. Forget to put in the transom plug and have to run the bilge pump for an hour after you put it back in. Lose a prized fishing pole over the side.
Buy a boat. Any decent boat. Go boating!
