"Now for your ideas and suggestions, should I keep the boat and restore and make it a custom boat the way I want over time, or is this maybe not the boat to satisfy me? It seems small, would changing the center console and leaning post open the boat up for me? Should I close in the transom and add a livewell there and push the motor back on a bracket? Any ideas or suggestions is greatly appreciated!"
My humble suggestion.......bring it down to Apollo Beach and give it to me, I can find something to do with it!! After I recover from the wife kicking my butt because I got another boat!
Seriously, if you want a bay fishing boat and fishing is your thing, over most of the other family/fun things, this boat with the big console, t-top and no casting deck in the rear is not going to work. If I was you, I'd be looking at a 22' - 24' Pathfinder and sell this one to me cheap, real cheap!
Good luck!