When two boats share the same hull type — in this case both the Eastern 31 2012 and the Eastern 35 2012 are deep vee designs with fiberglass construction — the buying decision usually comes down to a handful of practical questions: how many people are you putting on the water, how far do you trailer, and what does your tow vehicle weigh?

Both boats share a closely matched power ceiling — 330 hp for the Eastern 31 2012 and 330 hp for the Eastern 35 2012. Real-world performance will come down more to which motor is actually bolted on, its load at the time, and whether it's a 4-stroke or 2-stroke setup. Both carry nearly identical fuel loads — 1 gal and 1 gal — so range won't be a tiebreaker here.

For family outings this is probably the sharpest distinction between the two. The Eastern 35 2012 is rated for 10 passengers, while the Eastern 31 2012 caps at 9. If you're regularly pulling extended family or a group of friends onto the water, the extra seats on the Eastern 35 2012 could be the deciding factor.