Dan, One thing I noticed off the wind is you have to release the reacher instead of just bearing off in the puffs. The 14's bow are not as bouyant as some others. And you can take the blaster upwind up to 7kts, then you have to furl or just reach away! Your barberhauler idea is the way to go when using it upwind to open the slot. I found the same true last June when I first got the beast in the water. Send me a pic of your 2:1 furling line setup; I'm still using the prehistoric 1:1 system  . Bob 
"The election is over, the talking is done, Your party lost, my party won. So let us be friends, let arguments pass, I’ll hug my elephant, you kiss you’re a $$.”
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