Wood will probably be heavier than a light foam/glass boat. Until we have pulled off a test panel we will not know just how much more, so that is pretty high on the todo list.

I dont think wood will absorb more epoxy than foam. There are techniques we intend to use to minimize the amount of epoxy going into the wood. If you look at the surface area of the foam you are gluing the glass to, it is pretty large! To get a good bond between foam and glass you probably want to fill the surface with thickened epoxy before putting the glass on. This filler layer will add some weight. You will also need more glass than you do with a wood core. The theorethical numbers and the literature suggests that wood should be OK weight wise. Will be interesting to find out!
Life expectancy for a wood core boat is excellent. The wood carries most of the loads in a catamaran hull so it can bend for many more cycles than a foam/glass composite of comparable weight and thickness.

I suggest you wait and what comes out of our project, unless you are in a hurry.
If you are going to build a budget boat, I would rather start looking for used gear to go on the boat like beams, blocks, cleats, a rig etc. Those items costs more than the hulls are likely to do.