Hi Jerry,

Just like to clarify from which standpoint you raise these questions, your original post which started this thread sounded like you were asking the question from a novice perspective on cat-sailing, yet you seem to have a sound understanding of what design elements make a boat go fast, as well as skipper input required, so a novice you are not !

"Lower sheet/control line loads sounds good to me. But so does a less stiff mast (such as that on the Taipan) so you don't need to play the lines nearly as much to compensate for gusting conditions." - This implies you have a good understanding of the difference between the behaviour of spreader-less masts as found on Hobie 16 etc, which are much stiffer than spreader type masts like Taipan etc, which enable the mast to be a lighter & therefore more flexible extrusion.
Having sailed H16 & Dart 18 a fair bit, and then Mosquito, the difference is remarkable (for the benefit of those who may have only sailed one type of boat). It`s really great to just hoik the mainsheet in hard, double trap & point the thing upwind, looking up at the mainsail leech on Saturday I was just watching the leech open up & then close again in each gust, with a corresponding increase in speed. Awesome stuff. If you`ve only ever sailed a boat with a stiff mast you won`t understand how well this works, until, like me, you`re "converted". (I was actually watching the whole rig, since I`ve just fitted out a new mast after breaking my last on New Year`s Day, and was nervously watching for signs of an "action replay".)

On the subject of the lighter boat : Have you seen the video footage of the A-class, or F18HT ? Man, I`d rather spend half my sailing time upside-down with one of those than sail a concrete boat.

Cheers
Steve