First welcome to the forum,after reading your post it brought me back to my first boat,like you I had a construction background but nothing earth shaking.My thoughts are, be all you can be,take that chance and bring out the artist in you,select one builder/instructor and stay with his system,fortunately I found Nick Shade a master of the art second to none.I can't begin to tell you the satisfaction and gratification there is to building one of these kayaks, it will not be perfect or compare with the master builders on this forum and there are many, but you will be amazed at how beautiful it will be.I must also warn you of the addictive nature of this undertaking it's just not possible to build one boat. Regarding your thoughts on a boat building school, its OK if available however Nick has many tutorials on different phases of construction and I highly recommend his 2 books,and with the tips,hints and help from this forum you should be OK.Which ever way you go always have fun and good luck. Nick R.