> Actually I was just thinking about starting.

The only thing to think about is which one to build first.

As far as how long it takes, that depends on what type of boat you are building. A stitch-and-glue boat can be done in 60-80 hours (mine took longer, but there were some modifications), while a strip-built boat can take twice that (from what I've been told). That's actual time spent building the boat - there's also considerable time spent waiting for epoxy to dry. A boat can be completed in 2-3 months. Note these times are building from a kit - it takes a little longer building from the plans.

As far as related experience, it helps but is not essential. If you have absolutely no experience, start with a kit. The kits are designed for people with little experience, and also eliminate the need for a lot of fancy tools. I built from a kit, and the only power tools I used were a drill and sander.

As far as information goes, you've come to the right place. If you browse through the archives, you'll find enough info to determine what type if construction you want to tackle - stitch-and-glue or strip-built. Once you make that determination, you can get a book on the subject. For strip-built boats, check out Nick Schade's book - it's available on this web site. For stitch-and-glue boats, the instructions that come with the plans or kit provide sufficient information.