A place I really like for general boating issues from beginning to end is
http://www.boatingabc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi . A real helpful,
knowledgable and friendly place with no BS (other than me of course).

Start out used if you can. You will learn a lot before you buy (hopefully)
and then you will learn a lot more after you buy (impossible to learn it all
before first purchase). It is next to impossible to purchase a lifetime boat
the first time. Of course, you wouldn't necessarily want a lifetime boat if
you have 2 growing kids. Tubing and skiing is great but wakeboarding is
number 1 around here (west coast) and those kids are going to influence you
(more than you may thunk).

Good Luck and Enjoy.