My '75 18 footer had the 20'" transom. Back in '02 the Suzuki four strokes hadn't built up a reputation yet, and I found a 20" DF 140 that the dealer wanted to move. This was in the West Palm Beach area, where there's a good deal of flat water on the Intracoastal and sometimes outside, so you have an opportunity to run fast - but also occasionally pretty rough inlet running and ocean seas. My boat didn't have trim tabs, and don't remember checking low speed plane, but I don't recall feeling that it was an issue. I did however scare the living heck out of myself the first time I tried backing down on a fish out in the open ocean with a little sea running (the boat didn't come with washboards). In short order I made up some hinged boards out of Starboard, which allowed the motor to tilt when folded, and they helped a lot in keeping water out of the boat. I knew the motor put a bunch of weight aft, so I moved the batteries under the console and tried not to load heavy gear in the stern. As Don said a few clicks back, it's a good idea to first try to figure out how you're probably going to be using the boat, and go from there.
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1977 23' Sceptre
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