Heres my experience for what its worth:
I went through exactly the same scenario as what you are going through back in Feb this year. I have 3 young boys and wanted to be able to do an activity with them as the wife works night shifts over the weekend and to make it easier on her we try and get out of the house (her idea :) ). For me I had no experiance what so ever with boats so spent a lot of time researching and talking to those in the know first. All good advice and intel was gathered. In the end I got a Bonito 186 Hydrolift which ticked all the boxes including Price (got a great deal on Tard me for $11K.
I then spend 700 on a service and its been a fantastic runner for me since then.
The kids love it and the cabin definitely helps when I am out on longer trips. The fibreglass is heavy so cuts through the water in the rough really well and is a very stable platform when anchored.
The down side is I caught the fishing bug big time and especially my middle and youngest sons are getting right into it with many successful trips in the harbour to date and we are planning a deeper run in summer.
Now that we are doing more fishing than leisure I want to upgrade to something slight bigger and with a Hardtop. Fishing is our main activity but that main change come summer.
For me the hardtop is a key factor for the next boat as pissing around with the cover which is a good cover but restricts my vision when on the move and if i dont have it up in the rough stuff I get alot of spray coming over me (of course a jacket solves that)
I think at the end of the day your budget will be the biggest factor in your decision. But make sure when you are checking a boat out take someone who has a few clues and that will give you good advice. Good luck