G'Day Biker,
With respect to Hudson's latest
advice, consider this: his
advice is correct for someone choosing a boat to go cruising in, and for a long time at that. It seems to me that what you are looking for is first a "home on the water", second a boat to learn to sail locally in and third, something that you can sell on when you are through with this phase of your life.
The choice of
keel shape (fin vs full),
rudder location, means of attaching the
keel and so on don't really enter into your calculations very much. Any of the
boats that you have mentioned (at least the ones with which I am familiar) all would pass the basic requirements, and few of them would be a good choice for serious
long term cruising, for that is a different world entirely!.
Obviously, a clapped out Atomic 4 will make it a bit harder to sell the boat on in a few years... but it will also drive down the
price that you will have to pay for it. Whether it will suffice for your
learning sailing should be determined by a competent
mechanic, but the same advice holds for a younger
diesel.
So, my thoughts are:
Buy a boat that is comfortable for you physically.
Buy a boat that passes a
survey, and negotiate the
price with the knowledge gained by the
survey. This should get you a boat whose price actually reflects its value, and this in turn means that you shouldn't get hurt badly when you sell her onward as you plan to do.
Don't obsess about things like tiller vs
wheel,
sloop vs
cutter, gas vs
diesel. In the long run they will not be all that big a deal. Remember, there are thousands of folks who have purchased and loved vessels on either side of each of those arguments... it is mostly a personal thing, not do or die significance.
As others have said, finding a boat that is within your
budget, that you can live on as you yourself find adequately comfortable, and that is able to be sailed as is without too much additional work/additions... this is your goal as I see it.
Good luck in your search and your life afloat.
Jim