Don't be afraid of a 28-footer as a"first boat." The learning curve for
handling a 28 footer isn't really any longer than for a 21 or 22 footer, and in
a lot of ways the greater mass of a larger boat helps promote stability.

The brand name of the boat you select will be less important than the design
characteristics. Bayliner probably builds both suitable and unsuitable boats
for your purpose....but if you're going to be somewhere under 30-feet size wise
you might want to consider boats that are designed for offshore sport fishing
conditions. In the NW, boats like C-Dory, Skagit Orca and a few other brands
would be worthy of investigation and consideration.