Amanda-
It will depend on your woodworking skills. If you have some experience woodworking then you could build a strip-built kayak which takes some time to do. I would buy a starter kit that has ready-made forms. However, the easiest to build would be a plywood kit "stitch-n-glue"kayak like the one available from Pygmy Boats www.pygmyboats.com. Theirs was built by wooden boat magazine so you can get the back issue if you want to check it out. They have a step-by-step building preview on their site that shows you what to expect to be getting into. The stitch-n-glue method will require very few tools. You will have to drill some small holes to put wire through the forms to "stitch" them together. You will glue the plywood after you stitch it and then remove the wire. You don't need a workshop to do this, but you need a space with plenty of room where you can do fiberglass work. I'm building a 19 foot strip-built on my front porch! If you go with strip-built look at guillemot kayaks, which sponsors this bulletin board, but I recommend them for other reasons than that. Buy "the strip-built kayak" by Nick Schade, who owns guillemot kayaks. That book will tell you all about strip building. Good luck and if you need to know anything feel free to write.