I sail my 5.2 without the jib and it handles just fine. I can barely tell the difference as far as handling. However, I have very little rake in my mast.
I do that too as I sail solo and I added a spi to my 5.2. But I have two issues with this setup:
- Upwind without the jib the boat is real slow. It doesn't seem to fly as well as it does with the jib.
- Tacking in light wind is damn impossible. I can't seem to be able to get enough speed to go through the tack without stalling. And when stalled the 5.2 without a jib is very stable there... Once the wind picks up it become easier as you can build more speed and if you end up stalled it's easy to go backward.
