If you're only going to build one boat the cheap one will probably be fine assuming it's one of the better consumer brands - B&D, Rigid, Skil, etc. You definitely don't need plunge ability for milling strips.

The difference between most consumer tools and their professional counterparts is money (about $120 for routers) - and their duty cycle. A pro version will run all day every day. The $39 version will not. Stop and take a break every 15 - 20 minutes or so to let is cool down and it should be fine. Try to mill an entire boat's worth of strips in one session and you'll likely burn it up.

Save your money for the Random Orbit Sander you'll need later on. Go pro there as you'll be doing a lot more sanding than milling strips! I use and swear by Porter Cable, but there are many other good companies. Plan to spend about $80 on a good ROS, and two to three times that much on sandpaper.

Good luck!

Randy