First Model Advice please

[Jonleeper]

So I'm after some advice please.

I have some time, weekly working away from home for at least the next year, and want a project to keep me busy and interested. I usually would buy a project car to tinker with but cost and space are a bit of an issue at the moment. So I have a reasonable tool kit and am happy building and tinkering with stuff. My father builds finescale trains and has a full workshop so I could visit and use his kit for various parts if necessary.

I was thinking about a wooden RC sailing yacht build. I enjoy sailing and wood would be a relatively easy thing to work with inside the house and not require machine tools all the time. Oh and the finished wooden boats look amazing. There is a small lake nearby that people sail model boats on and so I have a place to sail it. I have done some research and the star 45 appears to be a well respected and relatively easy kit. So questions?

Is a wooden boat a reasonable starting place?
Is the star 45 a good place to start?
Where do you get raw materials from? It looks like plans can be downloaded but I would need sheets of thin timber to work with.

Many thanks,

Jon

[Jonleeper]

Sorry meant to add some links:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-sailboats-89/98...

An old thread but some beautiful pictures of the wooden hull.

http://www.stevensaero.com/J.-Fisher-Star45-Bulkhe...
http://modellers-workshop.com/modellers-workshop-m...

Two shops apearing to sell laser cut parts but very different prices. How difficult is cutting this sort of part and is it worth buying ready cut?

Thanks,

Jon