I agree with you on everything except on the quote bellow.
"You could take out quite a few friends with all the cockpit space and still stay comfortable. Also, if you are just out for the day to enjoy the water, there appears to be plenty of room to store your lunch and drinks in a cooler above deck"
Must be sailing friends, because if you take the ones that have never been on a boat, I doubt they will return. Also don't bring too many, its not that big and while sailing it will become MUCH smaller.
Lunch and drinks, only in closed cups and a few sandwiches. Lunch as we know it, maybe while at
anchor, when the wind / waves aren't present.