Hey Doug. I went thru the same thing when I was looking for an A Cat, trying to figure out which boat to buy. I wish that race results included the boat type, that would help. What has impressed me since getting into it though is how close in performance all of the boats really are. I do feel strongly that wave pircing bows are an advantage over the older straight up bows but beyond that I can beat or be beaten by any type of boat, depending on the opposing sailor, not the boat. My 2 cents. Ed