Bolivar,

At 225 lbs., I would choose the NACRA 5.5, Sloop or Uni. The difference between the two N5.5's is that the Uni has a taller mast (carbon is optional) and larger mainsail, but no jib. It is designed to be raced single-handed. The sloop has a bow foil that supports a large jib (genoa?) and is designed to be raced 2-up. I weighed about 205 lbs. when I sailed the 5.5 Uni with aluminum mast and I kept a soft sided cooler clipped to a hiking strap. When I needed to right the boat (way too often!), I would retrieve my righting line from the pouch on the trampoline and throw it up over the hull, unclip the cooler and open it, hang off my righting line (I had a loop tied in the line so my body was just above the water when hooked on my trapeze) reach over my head and submerge the cooler. When I lifted the cooler full of water out of the water, the boat came right up. I also tried the righting pole but the first time I tried to use it, it was much more difficult to make work than the above stated method. When I finally got the boat up, I was in shallow water and the righting pole stuck in the bottom supporting both bows way out of the water until the dolphin stiker bent out of the way! Major damage and repairs required. I threw the righting pole away!

When I bought a new NACRA 5.5 Uni with carbon mast in 1999, I no longer required the cooler, just hooked into the righting line loop and the boat popped right up!