I've been on mead, Havasu on 3 days weekends (once during a storm in the mid 90's) and Mohave where I water skied back to Catherines in a storm one time, but I've never tried the ocean. My best friend takes his Hondo out on Tahoe successfully but avoids the afternoon wind. It's my experience that not all flatties are created equal. Some are better than others at the task of rough water navigating.
All of my rough water navigating has been in Hondo's and Sangers.
That being said, I like a 3 inch splash guard, 1 bilge pump, an onboard super soaker (cylinder type), a solid battery and a well tuned engine. I would also recommend a distributor cover. After that, you need common sense and need to be paying attention. In big waves you can't just sit floating mindlessly like you can in a big boat.
That's my recipe for success and I don't drink so that doesn't hurt.
I can't help you with the Catalina flats, but surely GN-7 can.
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