A tip for one off customs. Have paper templates of what you want the core to look like between the female forms so you can make sure what you just built, matches what you designed(you may need templates for the form too, depending on what technique you use). Having the ability to make additional templates at 2AM, when things start looking odd and you need to check places you don't have templates for, helps. Some CAD programs can put alignment marks on 8.5x11 paper so you can tape them together to make big drawings.

The issue is, core strips don't usually bend the way the CAD curve-fit "bends". Sometimes the strips don't lay up perfectly on a form. Curve-fits have assumptions that physically translates into compression or tension on the strips between female forms. If you create a curve-fit that assumes no tension or compression on the strip at the forms, friction on the real strip produces compression and tension. You can minimize this by using a curve-fit that approximates your strips and by making a CAD drawing of a strip built core but there are a lot of variables in assembly. If you make a CAD drawing of the strips, the CAD can give you measurements from one end of the core strip, to where the female forms touch that strip. You can measure and mark the strip so you can check to see the strip lays in the female forms they way it should. ALL of this is a pain in the butt but it beats discovering your hulls are different and having to build a third one, to match one of the first 2.

For boats built from good plans, this all been sorted out.

I don't want to start a discussion on merits of materials but you can use cedar instead of foam. Depending on where you are, there can be a huge price difference between foam and cedar and you will need less material in the laminate. Cut the strips out of 1-3" thick planks.

Wood battens, were used for "curve fits" once a upon a time. I read a article last year about simulating wood batten curves with CAD curve-fits. This went a long way toward explaining why I had such a bi**h of a time getting the real world to match what I created on a computer.