I think you will be much happier in the long run if you go with the smaller boat. For the price of the 12 footer you could get two real nice 8 footers. The smaller boats are just easier to deal with. You can toss it in the back of a pick-up or up on the roof rack of an SUV without deflating it everytime you use it. A 12 footer will have to be dis-assembled and re-assembled every time you go out pretty much. An 8 footer will be a lot easier to controll especially when it gets windy.

The ODC 816 has proven to be a dependable boat and I know of at least a couple of BnTers who started out with them. The Creek Company has great customer service and they are a major sponsor of the Bass-N-Tubes opens.

My 0.02