Hey Tikipete, I'm also a supporter of rake. When I first got my viper, the mast was pretty upright on the first sail, however as we raked is back 2 holes, the load on the rudder increased and the helm increased a little, but the boat sails sooooo much better upwind, and I can literally feel the boat lifting upwind by itself with it's foils loaded rather than having to try to steer the very neutral feeling boat upwind which is really slow because of all the rudder movement.

Also in chop, I tend to let of my main a little, not only to sail lower through the chop but also because as the rig stands up straight it seems to power up (of course beyond a certain point easing the main more means the main loses power instead).

Of course not sure if all this applies on the Blade. We'll do some experiments here in Singapore and see what the difference is with the blade from the viper.