My first boat was a 1980's 17' Flare CC with a 1988 Johnson 88 SPL on the back. Fished that boat hard on Ontario, Oneida and Cayuga. Like you said, handled big water surprisingly well. Like any boat, beware of transom rot and soft floors. The only gripes I had about mine were how far back the console sat, didn't leave much room to fight fish between the leaning post and transom (being a 17' boat didn't help that either), and a general lack of storage.
History wise, I believe that Flare boats were built in Lake Wales, FL until the mid-late 80's before being bought out by another boat builder, and absorbed.