OK, to answer the "first sail" question. My brother-in-law built his own super sunfish, don't know exactly with what rig and really didn't care because I was only 11, and a waterskier. He took me out on a little lake and I soon learned why he was so adamant about me going with him...he needed my chubby little butt to keep it flat. I understood what getting on plane was, but not happy about the physical exersion required to hike out flat. My impression was, this going for a ride on a sailboat involved entirely too much work.
Thirteen years later I got my second sailboat ride, double trapped on a Hobie 16. The skipper buried it and it is to this day probably the quickest picthpole I've ever encountered. I popped up from underwater and shouted "Let's do that again!" Three days later I bought a brand new one <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />