"an old cruising cat like this."
Hey, this matbe an old cruising cat but I have a blast on mine. I had the GPS on this last saturday and once we had a couple of good runs I checked it and it said that we had maxed out at 48.8 mph. I thought "that cant be right. thats got to be pretty close to a new world record", and then remembered that my buddy had been messing with it on the way to the lake and I hadn't reset it.
So, once i reset it, we maxed out at 21mph. the wind mas maxing at 19-24mph and we were a little light in weight at about 335lbs. I was having a hard time keeping her flat at higher wind speeds. I think that with a heavier crew I could get a lot more speed. I have another crew who is 250lb and with my 180lb, we were going a lot faster but I forgot the gps at home so I dont know how fast we went. I will put it on next time and see. that's not too shabby for an old cruising cat.
I picked up the 5.7 and sold my older solcat 18 and the difference is huge. what a thrill this cat is.
Spin should go on mine iver the next week or so. I cant wait!!
I use the standard rig with no problems or complaints.
If you are just learning the boat you will have enough to do with the lines on the simpler rig. above 12 mph I set the jib tight and forget till I tack.
Have a great time on your 5.7.