HI Wes, first of all welcome to Mayhem and the world of model boats. Depending on where you live an I/C engine could be a no/no, a lot of waters ban engines because of pollution, noise etc, but good luck with the build.
As to a first model, what about an ex Keilcraft ez build model, plans are free on the internet, small and quick to make, great start for you. Paper templates. scale up the free plans to a better size???? sheet steel/ that would need a large size of hull, probably a tug with plenty of displacement, but, it would weigh a great deal, handling and launching become a major problem.
Have you a local club? they would help in your decision, also you could see what facilities they have, for launching etc.
Like your ideas but i fear they may be to ambitious as a first model.
Mark