This is one of the best ideas I've heard in a long time. A small boat is a great way to break into the hobby. Building a model of a dory, skiff, sharpie, lobster boat, catboat, etc. will give you more of a workout than you probably think; it will get you acquainted with lots of techniques, materials, and terminology. Some of the most exquisite models I've ever seen have been models of small boats.
Furthermore, any real ship lover knows that almost every small boat has a beauty and interest all their own. The lines of a Grand Banks dory, for instance, are extremely subtle and attractive. Such a boat is a fascinating combination of simplicity and ingenuity. It's simple enough to be mass-produced at a reasonable price from common materials. A competent dory builder probably could build one in a day (except for letting the paint dry). It can be handled by one man, and is stable enough to stay upright when he goes through some pretty serious physical gyrations as he hauls in his nets. It's incredibly durable and seaworthy; if the fisherman in it gets separated from his mother shipand has his lunchbox and a bottle of water with him, he probably can survive fairly comfortably for several days on the open sea. It handles well under oars or sail. And four or five dories, with their removable thwarts, can be stacked inside each other, taking up minimal deck space on board the mother ship. Boats like that supplied the United States and Canada with seafood for generations. What better subject for a model could there be?
Model Expo ( www.modelexpoonline.com ) sells the line of small craft from Midwest. I've never built any of those kits, but they have a fine reputation. (For some reason Model Expo doesn't list Midwest as one of its "featured kit manufacturers." But if you type "Midwest" into the "Search" box on the Model Expo homepage you'll see the whole line.) Midwest kits get distributed pretty widely to decent hobby shops; you may be able to find them locally. Another good manufacturer is Bluejacket ( www.bluejacketinc.com ). It's a fine old company with a particular interest in New England smallcraft types - dories, lobster boats, etc.
One of those kits, combined with some basic tools, a good paint job, and a couple of weeks' work, will give you a good deal of practical experience, a good deal more knowledge of the subject matter, and a handsome model for your mantel. That makes infinitely more sense than investing the same amount of time (and considerably more money) struggling with the early stages of a big sailing ship model - and later getting so dissatisfied with the results that you tear it apart and start over.
Good luck. It's a great hobby.
Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.