I've been learning lots about lateral hull form -- full and fin keels, attached and spade rudders -- from The Modern Cruising Sailboat : A Complete Guide to its Design, Construction, and Outfitting.  Our next steps at this point are:
  1. to continue to reduce our load 
  2. to figure out where to go next 
  3. to complete out first aid training project
  4. to continue training and educational efforts in cruising skills -- celestial and coastal navigation; diesel and electrical maintenance and repair; sail and deck maintenance and repair, etc.
  5. working and sustaining while we're out
We'll forge ahead on those while continuing to learn all we can about about boats and boat design and cruising and continuing to press ahead with school, and continually reevaluating and adjusting of our approach it.