The idea of building starts out like a great idea. I spent 7 months getting my boat ready. Everyone else was going sailing while I was sanding. But it's done and the boat is in the water after 250 hours of repair. Starting from scratch will take 4 to 8 times the hours. Only reason it took me only 250 hours was the original owner worked on the boat for 5 years and never got it to the water!

To me the ideal cruising cat is a Stiletto. You can carry 4 people and all the stuff for a week. Pitch a tent on the front tramp. And still out sail any leaner. S27 carries more than the S23. S23 takes 4 hours to setup. S27 takes 3 hours. From $6000 and up, you can sail this spring. I figure any boat will take 6 grand+ to build.

my two hulls worth,

Spinakerjohn

p.s. try stiletto.wildjibe.com