I have been discussing building a 31' tri and the topics of Why, and
build vs buy have come up from some people.

Basically, I just wanna do it.

Next, I really like the idea of going into really shallow water to
anchor.
Speed is nice too. 5kts for days is a real drag.
Outside room on a tri would be nice. On the 28' Monohull, my wife, 3
kids and one other person is really too crowded for a day sail with
everybody somewhere on deck. We are in Florida so splashing through
the tramps is not an issue for being cold.
Trailerability would be good. We have tried moving our monohull to
have new sailing grounds but that isnt enough. I want to sail teh
Keys, I wanna sail Charlotte Harbor, I wanna sail near Mobile, the
Bahamas, N. Alabama lakes and anywhere else I can find a chart for.

Build vs buy
The economics of building make no sense. I think that one could buy a
used boat for the same price one could build the same boat. My
MiniCups cost MORE than buying two used Sunfish because I experimented
with so many odd ways of doing things. However, building does allow
one to spread out the outlay over a different time than buying. I can
afford to buy the folding parts this month, sails 3 months later,
spars in a few months etc. I abhor payments (I drive a truck with
300,000 miles for this reason).
Building just sounds interesting and will not be a case of deferred
gratification because I will still have the 28' S2 till the tri is
finished. I have no doubt I can do it, it won't be a work of art but
will perform well and I am not worried about re-sale value.
I am interested in what Jere Lull says about ariving earlier than
multis because of rough weather. Can you elaborate? Do people in
tris not go out in high wind conditions? (maybe this doesnt matter
since I am chicken too)
I am interested in perceived difference in "fun" between a 27', a 31'
and a 32' tri. Is a 32 or 31 considerably more "hassle" than the 27'?
By myself, I tend to travel light so my packing a tri to stay light
would be no prob. Is it possible to convince family to go light.
(Maybe take em backpacking first).