Wharrams are a completely different concept than the Blade (or Taipan or similar). The lashings and other things Wharram use fits the concept/philosophy behind his boats very well.

One point about boatbuilding. The first boat is always slow to build, as you are learning how to use new tools, materials, techniques etc. The second project usually goes much faster, and the third a little bit faster than the second again. What kind of background and what kind of personality you have also influences building time. I think it was Ian Farrier who wrote that a cabinet maker would use horrendously long time on completing a boat, but it would be a floating cabinet (beautiful). A plumber on the other hand would build a structurally sound boat on half the time. Joinery under the floorpanels would not be as beautiful as the one from the cabinet makers tough.
Like I said earlier, if you want to learn how to use plywood and epoxy, building a Blade is a good project. If you fear that this project is too large/expensive, build a plywood kayak first instead so you can find out wether homebuilding is for you. http://www.clcboats.com/ sells comprehensive plan sets and their book "The New Kayak Shop" explains what you need to know about plywood stitch and glue construction.