ajl100,
It may partly depend on how you plan to sail the boat, too. If you intend primarily to daysail on the upper Potomac during summer months, then it's fair to say the Orion may not be the best choice. By the same token, a deep draft performer wouldn't be a good choice either since the channels are narrow and limited.
On the other hand, if you hope to explore the length and breadth of Chesapeake Bay, from March through November, it's then that the appeal of the Orion 27 begins to crystallize. You already know enough about the boat to understand why the hull and
rig are not optimized for light air conditions. Only you can answer whether this boat's many other virtues will make up for this shortcoming. But if you consider wind-less and very light air days as a good opportunity to charge the batteries, then don't dwell inordinately on the Orion's performance in these conditions.
By the way, there are Mark I and Mark II versions of the Orion (even some Mark 1.5s) and both versions offer alternative interior lay-outs.