Questions about homebuilding, and the Sportman 2+2 in particular

Hi, I'm new here (but not to other rec.aviation groups - I was there
before they split). I a 400 hour pilot with a life long dream of flying
floats, and starting to think that a kit plane might be the only solution.

I was recently reading about the Sportman 2+2 and their "two weeks to
taxi" program, and as well as being a plane that seems to fit my mission,
that program seems to address all my reservations about kit planes:
- the long build time
- the danger that your flying skills will atrophy if you spend all your
spare moments building a plane for years instead of flying
- the need for a building space
- the need to buy a bunch of tools you won't need after it's built
- the fear that you might do something wrong and not notice until it's too
late

I was hoping others here could comment on this program specifically, and
also some other questions about kit planes.

Is it true that a kit plane has limitations about what you can do with it?
What limitations? Also, is it true that as a builder, you're authorized
to act as your own A&P? Does that extend to IA as well?

Not so much on topic for this group, but in general, how much time and
effort does it take to switch a plane between floats and wheels and
vice-versa? Is this something you can decide to do for the weekend, or is
it more of a "once per season when the lakes freeze" sort of thing?

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"I kept the faith and I kept voting/Not for the iron fist but for the helping
hand/For theirs is a land with a wall around it/And mine is a faith in my
fellow man" --Billy Bragg