small beginner boat to learn on and sleep in?

[sailaway21]

You can learn quite nicely in a dingy, but as you'll find, you'll pay about as much for one as a larger boat-check out yacht world and e-bay. I think you'll like having a trailer-sailer you can sleep on, etc..., with an emphasis on etc...(!) My ref to the weight issue was that a lighter boat will turn much more quickly by virtue of less inertia and be more tolerant of mistakes. One day of "crewing" on a "big" 18' and you're going to see no reason to have your own.

[sailingdog]

Most sailing dinghies are generally less tolerant of mistakes than larger boats, unless you consider tolerance including getting dumped into the water and capsizing.

However, you will generally learn more about sail trim, sail balance, and such on a small dinghy or daysailer, than you would on a larger keelboat. as they are often more sensitive to such things.