First off I have no experience with an aluminum mast. All of this comes from having a carbon mast. My understanding was that the carbon masts are stiffer though.

My Downhaul travels about 16 CM from where I set it to start the day to fully downhauled on a windy day. This flattens the main and makes the boat drive great upwind.

Mast rotation is very important. I set it about at the shrouds for most conditions (upwind and downwind). When I'm max downhauled and need to depower more I rotate in a little at a time not going past pointing at the rear beam.

I use the main to handle wind gusts. If I'm already max downhauled and rotated in then I start to travel down to depower more. If I'm constantly letting mainsheet out and in then I travel down. I don't like to travel down more than about a foot. This depends on your teams weight.

Deal with wind gusts by heading up and sheeting out. Sheet right back in within seconds of letting it out to accelerate.

Mike Hill
N20 #1005