Harvey, Your idea of adding a bulb to the keel has been tried on a
boat in Rhode Island which has been sold and is now, I believe, in
San Francisco. I believe the bulb was removed. I never saw the boat
but I talked once on the phone or by email with the owner. He was
racing the boat in PHRF and trying to gain an advantage. Bolting on a
couple of pieces of lead would not be hard to do, but I agree with
Larry Fisher that the boat probably sails better the way it was
designed, single handed, double handed or with a full crew. Just out
of curiosity, have you sailed on an E27? If you haven't I suggest you
try it. You'll find out that it's one of the sweetest sailing boats
you've ever sailed. As Larry said there's rarely a need to reef. Just
vang sheet the main and ease it out in the puffs. All you need to do
is use a small (#4) jib when the wind pipes up.
A sail drive might be nice, but IMO it's unnecessary. If you need an
outboard, get a small, light one (under 30 pounds) and stick it on
the transom before you leave the dock. And tilt it up out of the
water when you're not using it. But, as Larry said, the boat is quite
easy to sail in and out of the harbor. You can spin it around 360 in
it's own length. And it can be easily stopped by grabbing a piling.