Of the CLC boats you mentioned the Chesapeake with it's "v" bottom and high initial stability is the best for a novice. Round bottom boats like the West River are much harder to build and don't pass the "relaxation test". In narrow tippy hulls you can never fully relax. For a novice who might need frequent rest periods having to be constantly balancing the boat even a little bit can be bothersome.
For cartopping you might consider the Chesapeake 16 which is only 15'9"" long but will give you about the same carrying capacity as the LT 17. The "16" also has the advantage of only having one set of scarf joints to glue up because the hull planks can be made from just two sheets of plywood. Anything over 16' requires part of a third sheet and thus more scarfs.
Pygmy hulls don't use scarf joints just butting the plank ends and reinforcing with fiberglass.
Don't get hung up on cosmetics like recessed coamings and flush hatch covers. It's more fun to paddle a plain-jane hull than to sit in the basement trying to figure out how to make your "invisible" hatch covers seal.
A few thoughts for you to rhuminate on.
Charlie