I think it's almost inevitable that once you build one boat you're going to build another. Either your paddling skills improve and you move on to a more maneuverable boat or you decide you can do a better job on the next project or you decide to try a different construction method. Part of the problem in choosing a first project is that you can't answer all the questions until you've built a boat and paddled it for a while.

Stitch and glue is an easy way to construct a first boat. My CLC Cape Charles 17 would be a great boat for a novice paddler and/or builder. I expect that the CLC Chesapeake 17 would be equally good. Almost any wooden boat is going to give you a better paddling experience than a plastic boat, at a comparable cost.