Osmund,
As has been said often, "every boat is a compromise." As far as I am concerned on the mechanics and stability of the lifting 'heavy' keel, ignorance is bliss (at least for now!
). Your Ovni (much like the Southerly) was beyond our reach, both geographically and financially. I looked at centerboard Tartans and Pearson's but the local knowledge said they were just not shallow enough for our creek. I suppose we should have addressed that issue when we purchased the property years ago, but we were sold on the view.
As I understand the Clearwater lead keel does have an aerodynamic shape and with it fully down it is quite stable and she sails well. But I have to be just as cautious in shallow waters as a normal deep keel sailboat, because while the keel will swing up, it will stop the boat when it hits bottom. The advantage is that I can just crank it up and we are off. It also lifts with only a line, but with pulley advantage. The concern was with the keel dropping too quickly and so a damper system was added to reduce shock load to the structure. As I get to use the boat more (we have had it less than a year) I plan to become more knowledgeable about the maintenance concerns associated with the lifting keel and rudder. The PO indicated he had very few issues with them. The trunk in the main salon probably poses more of a concern on resale than in actual use, for the 2 of us the boat has plenty of room. The salon table was engineered to accommodate 6 with removable seats in front of the aft berths to make up for some lost room. The keel trunk reduces the distance you can 'fall' down below, provides a comfortable backstop working in the galley and offers convenient hand holds (as well as storage for cups and bowls).
I have my concerns about using this boat in blue water,because of the added complexities of these systems (and there currently is no provision for locking the keel down); but coastal cruising is our main purpose anyway. However, I understand 1 of the 7 Clearwater 35's has circumnavigated.
cheers,
Ron