You say he plans on using it in "protected bays when the weather is nice", 12 ft. boat, whats the problem with this?
If he has little or no boating experience I would recommend he pay attention to his surroungings and not take any unneccassary risks, but I really don't see much of a problem "if" he stays in "protected bays".

I use a 10 ft. fiberglass dinghy to row ashore and deer hunt in Ak. I always know the tide conditions and watch the weather and most importantly, just use common sense, a little of this goes along ways.