Most boats carry sails that perform well enough to satisfy on trade-wind routes where three-quarters of the time the wind may be aft of 110 degrees apparent and there are opportunities for flying symmetrical shaped sails, like square sails and spinnakers.
Joshua Slocum was from Nova Scotia, Canada. He owned several ships as well as commanding many others. After loosing one of his ships, the Aquidneck, on a sandbank in Brazil, he and his family sailed the Liberdade, a canoe of about 35 foot, from the site of the grounding to Washington DC USA, his new home.
According to Sailing Today, September 2000 page 83, Van de Stadt’s Dehler 25 sloop bested MacGregor Yachts by a year or so in the use of water ballast. The German Dehler 25s were produced from 1984 to 1991 and water ballast was reported in the US to be used for trailering reasons and cost savings.