For many years I spent a lot of time in canoes. I have built many from wood and canvas and mostly wood and fiberglass.

Building a canoe of wood and fiberglass is surprisingly easy... IF you are so inclined...

I do not like the plastic canoes and especially if I lived where it was warm. I have seen them "slump" from being tilted against a tree for a while in the sun.

I believe in wide... Longer canoes of narrower beam will paddle faster with less effort and will track better, especially when fighting a wind. How much difference will that really make where your small pond expectations are concerned? Especially if you run a kicker any time you run far.

Bracket mounted motors will work fine on double-ender canoes and can be removed easily. They provide a more natural and comfortable steering arrangement.

For many years we ran a bare-bones canoe for fishing, bird hunting, floating and trapping. It was 18' with a 42" beam and two thwarts, no seats. Styrofoam blocks provided moveable seats making the ends almost instantly swappable without changing places. An advantage to this is the designated caster can move back between the thwarts to fish the shoreline without leaning against a gunwhale and affecting the stability.

Having one person paddle while the other fishes is the best way to run a canoe, IMO&E.
art