Limited funding is an issue for almost everyone in the times we live in. Even from last year this time, there's been a trend (at least in our end of the world) of increasing reservation in S/M businesses to investing into much anything, what to speak of financing year-long process of web development.

While you speak of blueprints, what I've gathered so far here is that for a lot of people, tinkering with Dolphin is something of a lifestyle and a way to learn more about website development, and see more maybe make a bit of profit in the process, more than a part of a tight and systematic business plan. (Re: the many "are you making money with your Dolphin" posts.)

If you're faced with a situation where it looks like you'll be spending a disproportionate time just evaluating possible solutions, before you can actually get your hands dirty and productive, it may be a good idea to hire a consultant who's already familiar with the range of available CMS options, and able to rapidly review them against your specifications. This would undoubtedly cost less than the loss of profits from a year's testing phase where no actual business takes place, and you'd know exactly what's supported out of the box, and where you need to budget time and funds for extra development.

I've developed easily a hundred plus websites in total over the years, and up to a respectable standard at that, in time-frames much less than a year. (As is obvious if you do the math of average sites per year for a decade from the above.) If you suspect it's been bull because of the short timeframes, feel free to message me and I'll link you up with some portfolios.

At any rate, I have no issue if you want to use Dolphin to build up your web development skills. By all means, keep at it.