Tom,
Where in SoCal are you? We've got some GREAT trailer-sailor stuff going on. Just last week my wife and I hosted 11 trailer-sailors, (including one Capri-18 from Ridgecrest, CA), at the Chula Vista Marina in south San Diego Bay. I see you have a Capri/Catalina-18.....GREAT little boat, we also had one, and sailed her to Catalina Island with the SoCal Potter's, (we'll be making the trip again July 23- 28, WHAT A GREAT TRIP!!!!). Extremely capable boat out in the Pacific. We also sailed her out on whale watching events. You just have to watch the weather, but the boat will take more than you can! Anyway, one of the things that attracted us to the C-18 was the keel design. We sailed a swing-keel C-22 back in the midwest for years, and I didn't want the extra maintenance of a swing keel in salt water, and especially the KEEL-CLUNK. We did all the up-grades on our old C-22, and could never eliminate it. We wanted more cabin room, and "pottie-privacy", so we sold our C-18 a couple years ago and purchased a C-22 MK-II version with a wing keel. Very solid boat, extremely stable, and NO KEEL-CLUNK, and just about zero keel maintenance. I will say the C-18 was nicer dealing with kelp out in the ocean. The leading edges have slightly more angle, and I never had to deal with kelp catching on the C-18 keel, (ours was the wing-keel C-18). Our C-22 MK-II with the Capri-22 wing keel performs excelent, BUT...catches kelp easier. So we keep a watchful eye for it and steer around when ever possible. I can't imagine the problems of dealing with kelp with a swing keel and trying to get kelp off the keel cable! And the C-25 is a BIG boat to trailer, and I believe the keel weight is around 900 pounds. We've been out in some rough water, and I sure like the security knowing my keel is secured to the bottom!
My personal opinion, I would not want a swing keel boat ever again! And the pre-95 catalina swing keels were cast iron. So you got cast iron, bronze, and stainless steel sitting in salt water......not for me, thank you...... And we found our C-22 MK-II actually easier to raise the mast than our C-18, (gin-pole is longer, more leverage), and the boat sits lower on the trailer, so it's easier to launch, however, we normally launch our boat with one of the cranes at the yacht club, including our C-18.
Get in touch for some GREAT SoCal sailing outtings!
Don
"Y-Knot?"