Being a guy whos never owned a boat as rigid as this one, id say its perfect for starters (mostly because of its size)When I first got it, it took me an hour to figure out how to put it together because the panels go in really tight, its kinda hard getting your fingers into those hard to reach places, especially since you have to make the panels interlock and stay that way as you force it down flat..Be careful of the alluminum beams that go between 1, 2, 3 they seem to be sanded down to reduce the chance of getting cut, but it still has these corners that i do not feel comfortable packing it with the boat unless I tape them together..Other than that, I have this boat combined with a 9.8 HP nissan 2 stroke from 2000, and by my self (170) I go about 19 MPH, with a 3 gallon tank, tools, anchor 3 bottles of water, siphon pump, and a water proof bag of expendables, I havent gone fishing yet because i dont have a license, but if i did have that stuff, my comfort would not be affected.. (do not take this out in choppy waters, over 10 MPH it kinda launches you)(yes I do manage to plane by my self +gear)Overall, after taking this boat out 3 times, ive gotten unwanted attention from folks in seadoos and in year boats... Taking photos and asking me how it is, i say its good xD (in those 3 times ive managed to get stranded boats help)Ive put it together enough times to knock down the time to 30-40 mins.If i could offer a tip, is maybe trowing down a strap under the back panel to secure stuff with a ratchet (unless you figure out a way to velcro or drill holes for rings on the 3rd panel by using round head screws) and small rubber hammer to get the side bars unwedged, and a strong enough rope (like 550) under panels 1 and 2 to pull up, if your by your self I would not recomend using the bag as its too far heavy to lift, thats why mine is in pieces in the car.2019 update: Ive take this boat out by my self so many times that packing it up, building it and tearing it down the pack it up again, takes me 30 minutes or less, ive included an electric pump and its seriously speeding up the process, one of my biggest fears of this boat is that the seams would break apart after some time (I read a review about one) so far that has not happened (because im not leaving it inflated all the time and in the sun) the only thing I wish could be better is..Seat tie downs: with enough time and force, the plastic supports on the seat dig and stretch the hold downs to a point that even if fully inflated, the seat pops off if enough force is applied.Oars: these are great, the possition where they are anchored on the boat is a little odd, it will always hit my legs and not clear, maybe consider moving the seat holdown up in the boat? Also, with my set up enough water flies up that it gets into the seams and fills the inside of the oar with water (a little crack filler can fix that permanently)Glued corners on transom: I dont know if my set up is wrong or if my trim is wrong, but if the back side of the boat digs in a bit deeper into the water, it causes water to hug the sides of the tube and roll into the boat (this became a big issue when I was towing a tube, it almost made me think I was flooding)Floor pannels and aluminum fixtures: the panels are great but with enough time which ever pannel gets exposed to the most water, degrades faster (removes paint) however the quality of the wood is keeping it from turning into moosh despite it being exposed (the back pannel is lossing its paint) im sure that after some time, id be able to remove the paint and recoat it again, the aluminum fixtures on the sides are a bit of a pain, and i think there is a way to improve installing them, ive always installed them and its hard to put my figers under them to press them in (which by the way its not easy since the bind) im either thinking of using a tool to assist me in pressing them in, or inflating the bottom of the boat just enough to lift the pannel off the flat surface it rests on.