1) An outboard boat that my Dad and I built for Winnipesaukee, would be "all wrong" for The Big Lake; however, we never took water over the bow. In fact, we didn't mount a windshield to stop that possibility.
How did we manage for a decade with just a 14-foot outboard boat? Perhaps because Dad had been racing "Laconia Speedsters" on Lake Winnipesaukee since the 1930s—and the boat was a very lightweight boat that took chop very well. That boat never saw an outboard with more than 45-HP.
During those years, we never "wanted" for anything greater for the lake. Later, we moved to a 24' sailboat—one very much like the sailboats that regularly circumnavigate the globe.
2) A few years ago, I was never so impressed as after a dinner at the Wolfeboro Inn, I came upon a couple at a table who were Rattlesnake Island friends—one being a general-aviation pilot—and just four miles from their Rattlesnake Island cottage. Without being aware of any remarkable weather conditions out on the lake, we asked, "What brings you to town this evening"?
They said, "We're staying overnight at the Inn—there's too much chop for our 24' bowrider".
• Weather and waves are not a constant: if you're taking water over the bow, you probably shouldn't out there. Pilots call such trips "Get-there-itis"—which has taken many a pilot. As I see it, you're never going to beat Mother Nature. Decide before you go.