Matt,

half my "sailing" bookshelf is filled with books about sailbuilding, design and sailmaking. If you are after one book, I would reccomend "The art and science of sails" by Tom Whidden and Micael Levitt.

Other books I think are good: "High performance sailing" by Frank Bethwaite and some of Marchaij's work (not directly about sail design, but lots of interesting material). The newest one looks promising, but I have not read it.

For a catamaran spi, I dont think you will find much literature. It's to new with to much development going on, and every sailmaker keeps his shapes to himself. But there are some pointers to what's fast and what's not. (flat, long luff, dont neccesarily use the whole foot length)

If you are interested, join the saildesign group at Yahoo and ask spesific questions there. If you want to, I can send you some Sailcut design files.

As for a sewing machine. I have buildt two mains, two jibs and a spi with my 30 years old Pfaff 362 (a domestic model). The Sailrite model with zig-zag and walking foot is just the thing if you can afford it. If not, there are lots of offers on ebay. Look for machines with a walking foot, zig-zag, a bit more power than a domestic machine and a large gate(arm). Metal machines are the best to sew with, and last very long. Myself, I am looking for a 70's Pfaff 1222 (or 1212, 1229 etc), becouse my machine lack a bit power and dont have a walking foot. If somebody see one, I would be grateful for tips (can't afford a Sailrite model)..

Laminated and glued sails are not the same. Laminated sails are buildt over a mould, fibres are glued to some kind of scrim (often mylar) and then lifted off the mould. Other 'laminated' sails are buildt just like cross-cut sails with mylar panels, then fiber reinforcement are added while the sail is laid on the floor (they fold the sail to make it lie flat).
Glued sails are just like panel sails, but instead of stitching all panels to each other you use glue.