[Ryank]

I have owned several 23's and 20's and in my opinion it sounds like you would be fine in a 20. The 20 SC's handle as well as most other 22-23's. and the 23 SC's handle as good as most 25-27' boats out there. I felt no less comfortable in my 20's then my 23's when out in 2-4'ft seas.
Anything above 4' my 23 is a little less painful. There are however many times when out in my 23 that I think I had just a good a time as when in one of my 20's, and my 20's with a 135 Johnson got 3.5-4 mpg vs my current 23 with a 225 efi yammi getting 2.5mpg Just my 2c worth!