I am not new to wood working and i have always wanted to build a strip canoe even though i have never been around canoes i have spent a lot of time on the water. This will only be used by me and my wife to run around the lake and fish out of Around some of the dams on the river, the water is pretty fast but not rough. I dont for see ever using it for camping but it is a possibility. 1'I like the long narrow look of the Companion more than the wider look of the Prospector but i know the Prospector is supposed to be more all round use..
2. I would like to build which ever i decide in a 16 or 17 food length and the advice i am asking for is what is the real pros and cons of each of them and what would your suggestions be... 3. Would it be possible to narrow the prospector and still have acceptable preformance from it, another reason i like these two are the higher stem and sterns that they have. 
4. I am not going to try to make my own forms the first time, those will be bought with the plans, I would ask for reccomendations who would have the best products for these plans and forms. Thanks, Don Wells