Home Distiller

I'm pretty new to distilling, but have had pretty good success so far. I built a 5 Gallon pot still from Clawhammer Supply. I started with grains this past winter. I made a couple batches of corn and several different recipes of bourbon. I think I can make a decent drink, based on friends comments after tasting and I look forward to continued experimenting with grains. Making cuts is very difficult and most times ive ended up just keeping the middle third? So much tasting and they kinda run together after a while. I've got a long way to go in that department. When I found this site I eagerly read everything I could. This site is an awesome resource for new folks and I thank everyone involved with it. The fruit brandies fascinate me and I passed the winter and spring dreaming of making blackberry, blueberry and peach. Tater's recipe seemed really solid and the awesome pictures made my mouth water! Well, the farm raised blackberries down the road are ripe and Saturday I spent 3 hours picking 9 gallons. This is a very expensive experiment at $12 per gallon. Each gallon weighed about 5 pounds. I plan on using 20 pounds per 5 gallon ferment. I have them in the freezer now in two 20 pound batches. I have also frozen 3 quarts in jars for soaking later. I do have some questions about how to proceed. I don't have the masonry drill bit device that tater has but it seems the blackberries should be pretty easy to mash up, at least easier than peaches or other stuff. They were really soft and ripe. I'm concerned about the seeds which are kinda bitter if you chew them up, but I want to make sure I give the brew every chance possible to carry the blackberry flavor thru. Should I try to strain the seeds out before fermentation? If I do I may end up removing some of the pulp also. With the grains I've strained everything thru a paint straining bag after fermentation before stillin. I've read some folks say that you should put everything in the still to get the most flavor to carry over. I'm not sure exactly what to do. I plan on adding some sugar in order to get a little more finished volume. I'd also appreciate some advice on how much to add and still get good flavor. Based on my reading here I'm trying to decide which yeast to use. I have Lalvin EC-1118 and K1-V1116 on hand. Which one should I use? Any other advice would be appreciated. I want to give my very best effort based on the cost of this deal!