I'm a lot heavier than you! 105 kg.
I think that if I pinched less I'd be able to trap more.
Also err on the side of trapping when you shouldn't. Ive seen the euros trap much earlier and the thought is that keeping the boat flat and the mast perpendicular is more of a performance advantage that desperately trying to get a hull flying. I've been taking that approach and it hasn't hurt me yet...and I usually sail heavy.
You bring up a good point here Jake, and something I had forgotten all about since making the switch from mono-dinghy racing to cats. In somehting like a Laser or 470, the experts will tell you to keep the boat as flat as possible going upwind, as you said, to keep the mast straight up and the blades straight down, giving you maximum lift from both sails and blades.
We don't talk too much about that in Cats, because we all love to trap, of course, and as soon as you can get one hull up out of the water you have cut your drag in half, but when the wind is "Medium" and you have to decide to trap or not, is it better to keep the boat flatter and get all you can out of the blades/sails, or better to keep your weight inboard, try to fly that hull and reduce the drag?
There has to be a "Changeover Point" somewhere in there, where it pays to stay flat, or pays more to get the hull up...finding that point is why I hate racing in light air!
When it's blowing, you don't have to worry about "IF" you should trap or not, you have to, period. But when it gets light...well...? My biggest problem may, or may not be, indecision. ;^)
