Im thinking of Buying my first Boat any advice?

[mikepostell]

I am looking at a couple different boats with basically the same options on it. I am looking at the Bayline Ciera 24 ft that sleeps 4 and also the comparable Maxum model. I want to use it on Lake Erie and want to be able to take it anywhere on the lake and possibly trips to Canada. Is the 24 ft boat big enough to handle lake erie and is the standard 220 horsepower engine strong enough. Any tips or pointers would really help. The salesman i had talked to recomended buying a used boat to keep the cost down and to see how much I liked boating. Any help is appreciated thanks.