I think the original (1972) layour must have looked good on paper, but doesn't really seem practical in reality. O'DAY made the change pretty quick, I actually think it might have been phased in during that first year... but I'm not certain. At the time (early 1970's) the style was for dinettes in the layout of sailboat (and powerboat for that matter) interiors...... they sort-of worked on some... but it would appear that there really wasn't room in the O'DAY 22 for that type of layout. For one thing it seems there was no room for any kind of galley (stove, sink ,countertop) with the dinette. The sink like yours appears to have been optional, almost an afterthought. I guess the new layout (galley to port and eliminating the dinette in favor of the more traditional settee/berth on each side of the cabin) was popular enough to stick with, O'DAY kept it for the rest of the production run (1973-83), Also, when the 22 was replaced by the 222 the interior of the 222 is really just an updated (and reversed) version of the 22 (galley was on the starboardside of the 222). Also, when O'DAY introduced the 20 in 1973, the orignal layout was almost the same as the 22, with the galley to port and 2 settee/berths in the main cabin.
Personally, I like to have some kind of sink on a boat (haven't figured a way to make one for my DS II) but, the sink doesn't need to be "built-in", we used a shallow plastic dishpan for many years on our old CAL 21 before my Dad got a good buy on a surplus sink (similar to the one on your 22) and we added that (about 20 years after buying the boat). True, such a small sink isn't luxury, especially with a hand-pumped faucet! However, it worked and allowed rinsing off hands prior to meals, or after various tasks, and we even washed dishes (I think that might have been easier with the old plastic dishpan) which was when the built-in sink did have one advantage..... a thru-hull drain.
Personally, my suggestion would be to remove the sink on your boat if it is in the way, then if I needed a "sink", I'd use a bucket and for water I'd get a 1-2 gallon water jug with a spigot (might even use an old one-gallon ketchup or mustard bottle like at a hot dog stand) that could be tucked out of the way when not in use.
Sounds like you have an old-style "luff-wire" type jib furler, they worked, but the newer style with an aluminum or plastic luff extrusion that fits over the forestay works 1000 times better. That might be a good upgrade in the future, CDI brand (D&R sells them at a good price) is a good one, as is the slightly more expensive Schaefer Snap-furl.
Some owners that do stil lhave those wire-luff furlers will stow the jib by furleing it, then lowering the furled jib (like a big sausage!) and coiling it like a hose.
