A quick thirty minute sea-trial is never enough to really get the feel of a boat prior to buying one. I can tell you a lot of funny stories from "our side of the table" about sea trials. My favorite is the fellow who made sea trial appointments with a whole series of dealers and showed up with the picnic basket and the entire family at the appointed hour each time. Only when a group of dealers were telling client stories at the bar one evening did they all come to realize that they had shared the same "prospect" and had given this family a whole series of days on the water at no cost whatsoever.
A better way to approach the need for more than just 30 minutes away from the dock is to charter. When we first launched the Back Cove 33 we were invited by our dealer in Bellingham, Washington to bring Motorboating Magazine to their location and use one of their stock boats to do the test for the magazine. As funny as this may seem, this three day adventure in the San Juan Islands actually sold me on getting a Back Cove 33. You can read about that charter on our web site and find contact information for our dealer there as well.