On my Longboat the main is also laced to the mast, even if stored on the yard there is still that to do. I have the parrel bead conversion kit from Churchouse Boats but haven't yet tried it.As far as I can see. most Longboat owners keep the yard up and the sail rolled up tight against it, which is fine when you're afloat but not so great when you want to drop the mast.
I moved in the opposite direction from an 18' trailer sailer to a Wanderer dinghy, so maybe not the best person to ask. The points here are well made about a good tow car, rigging setup and trailer. However although it sounded good in theory I just found I could never get into the whole trailer sailer thing - I think quite a major part of the reason is that personally I don't like driving and being in cars.
For me one appeal of sailing has to be that possibility to go and visist places at a slower and more relaxed pace without having to sit in a car to get there. A day out involving an hour or 2 drive to a slipway, say 30-60 minutes to launch and get going and doing the reverse at the other end of the day just isn't my thing. So that would put me firmly in the camp of getting a cheap mooring fairly close to home and using the trailer to avoid winter storage charges. But then I'd be looking to get something bigger than 18' and getting a bit more space and comfort and better at handling slightly rougher weather in that case - say 21-24". The other thing then that might change is the lifting vs bilge keel question. The keel box takes up plenty of cabin space, although of course makes it nicely shallow draft and makes for easy launch/receovery (somehow all boats I've owned in the past have been lifiting keel, even at 28'), if you only launch/recover once a year I see it that a bilge keel would be better.
Just something to think about. Maybe your're not the same as me and you'd enjoy the driving/trailing/towing aspects well enough for the benefit it gives of getting to sail in different places in the end. I think that is what a boat this size could be good for. Otherwise it strikes me as the worst possible compromise, a dinghy would be just as good for local half day/day sails near home (which tends to be more my thing, at least in normal years :-( ), and a slightly bigger trailer sailer would be better for more extended trips if you are only setting it up and launchning/recovering twice per season.
Its a fine balance, a wayfarer is at the top end of weight that you can launch and recover by hand. For a step up to 18ft microcuppers: boat weight around 550kgs, the trailer will weigh around 150kgs, which will mean using a car to launch and recover. Drascombes will be similar in weight.
My boat has a gunter rig and the lower part of the sail is loosely laced round the mast. The yard is held up against the mast by a line round the mast lead down to a cleat at the jaws. So the yard slides down for reefing and when I stow the lot, the yard and sail are bundled to the boom with the then loose laceing still round the mast. The goose neck is arranged to allow both of them to be lashed to the mast for trailing. The shrouds are left attached and the rig is supported by a couple of little crutches . Raising and lowering are about 5min, as the jib is hanked on, if windy, no jib and quicker. The main is 70sq.ft. to give an idea. I do this on the slip, as it is a bit 'tippy' in the water and one needs to secure the forestay.
Want oneHow about a Hunter Liberty 22? Flat bottom, lifting keel, stayless masts, 540kg empty. Friends of mine sail one from Kirkcudbright and like her very much.
I've been on the later Minstrel version (gunter rigged sloop with standing rigging) and although the one I was on was scruffy it was still clearly a very nice design. I'd have either like a shot if the opportunity arose, preferably the Liberty.Want one
The Liberty 23 was the same hull as the Liberty 22 but with more ballast and sail ... could that explain it?
As is the waterline..