I like to link to Phil Bolger designs for boats (and other designers like him), because they seem doable by the average person. They are rather simple designs as boats go however, so I should give some equal time to more complex designs.

Nat Herreshoff, a justly famous designer of boats, designed a small sailboat for day sailing called the 12 1/2 (named after it's waterline length in feet). It was very successful in it's day, and is still well known 90 years after being introduced.

The Haven 12 1/2 is a modern interpretation of the original design. The hull isn't as deep as the original, but wider, so that it can more easily be put on a trailer.

This Haven 12 1/2 seems to be very nicely put together, I envy the owner and his nice boat. I think I could put this much time into an airplane, but probably not a boat. Hmmm, maybe this is a signal that I'm not so much into building a boat, but I would still love the idea of making a boat, but not spending half of my life doing it.