What kind of a boat is good for a 1st time owner?

Hubby and I were thinking about getting a boat for next summer, and we're wondering what kind would be best for us. We live about an hour from Pittsburgh, and I think it would be ffantasticto have a boat on the water there. It's me and hubby (2 not-really-that-skinny people...lol) and a little 25# dog. Ideally we'd like to have maybe 4 other people on the boat, and a galley of some kind would be perfect. We won't be using this boat for fishing, just hanging out. Is this asking too much? Would a pontoon boat work for us? Is a pontoon boat, if this is something that would work, a good boat for 1st time owners? We've never had a boat before, so is looking for an 'easy' boat asking too much? Hubby is very mechanical, so I'm not worried about the up-keep on it, but more of the day-to-day operations of a boat. We know it's not going to be easy or something that's to be taken lightly, but what kinds of boats should we start looking at first? Thanks in advance!!