I've now been sailing extensively with the new setup and it works very well.

I'm a happy camper. The halyard no longer gets caught all the time (it can still snag if I don't watch what I'm doing, like any other cat I guess).
The vertical battens and sheeting from the forward beam have proven a blessing. No more wires to skin my shins on and it still helps tacking.
I'm keeping it set up this way for sure.