You will need a strong electric motor to power a boat that size. Plan
on a 24V as a minimum. You mention lakes and bays. If the bay is in
the ocean, you will want to spend a bit more for a sal****er trolling motor.

Yes, you are right. Between the weight of the boat and the wind, I will
need a strong electric motor. I didn't realize that 12V trolling motor
will not be up to the job. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes, the bay that I am talking about is sal****er bay. But I will not
use the trolling motor as the propelling power when I go to sal****er.
I will definitely use a gas engine. May be I have misunderstood
something about the idea of using trolling motor in sal****er. Do you
mean that people use trolling motor in sal****er instead of running the
gas engine in slow speed in fishing spots? Is this really true? Will
people simply follow the current to sweep through a spot instead of
using a trolling motor? Honestly, I haven't seen anyone use a trolling
motor in sal****er (may be I am just not looking carefully). This is
the reason why I ask.

What about a jon boat? They are very stable and would
accommodate a bimini top very well.

Really? The jon boats that I saw seems to be very flat and narrow. The
jon-boat that my co-worker has is only 36" wide that is even narrower
than the canoe that I was eyeing on before I decided to get a real
boat. Moreover, I want a semi-V boat in order to have the option of
fishing in protected salt water.

Jay Chan