You can always crack off the halyard just an inch or two rather than raise the pole tip if that's all you want to do, unless you have the "all in one" tack/halyard set up.
Fiddling with all that is slow.
And if you're trapped out properly (low), you can just sneak a peek under the spin once in a while... But yeah, it's hard to see laylines
Agreed, but not that slow if you have a long downwind and the tackline "is right there" for playing with (i.e on Starboard tack my tackline is right at my feet. That said, I was talking more about "macro" boat settings, i.e before you go out sailing, making sure the distance between the pole tip and the hoist point is correct for the sail. Sounds like it isn't (based on OP comment on it being flat).
Never thought of the luff line in the sail, never really played with it actually.
