I have zero experience lake sailing so I won't offer any opinions but the questions you're asking are often answered in detail here:
https://forum.trailersailor.com//forum.php?id=1
It's a very old forum style and they like it that way so it takes some getting used to. Introduce yourself, ask your question and you'll likely get a bunch of responses from all corners, be it someone sailing 16' Hobie to someone with a 25T license and pond sailors to sailors with substantive blue water experience.