: So basically, where as when I did my kit boat, I wired it together loosely
: and just had to worry about alignment as I tightened, but in this case, I
: should aim to cut and plane the fairest and symmetrical panels at first,
: then be prepared to trim and fair a bit more during the stitching process
: as the lines make themselves evident?

Yes...the above paragraph sums it up nicely. Ideally when you do your lofting, cutting, and planing, your pieces will go together fair much like your kit did. Probably they won't so you should be prepared to do minor fairing of panels as you go along...if needed. I must say that my background of building S&G (and conventional) boats goes back many years and is more of a process of knowing what works, what I want, and cutting pieces to fit the space I am covering. I sometimes call this the "board and batten" method. I stitch together, cutting and planing as I go. It works...and I can do multi-chine boats that way. Being able to loft the entire boat components makes it easier, and a kit easier still. Nevertheless...it is still the same process. The biggest problem you will face is probably the question of how "perfect" does the fit have to be. I say that it only has to be good enough to be straight and fair. As long as it is structurally sound...what you see is what is important. One other thing that I want to note is that once you start stitching tight, while making sure that everything is straight and fair...you can forget about any dimensions or shapes called for in the original plans, because now you are in the realm of the boat becoming what it is going to become.