IRC trade-offs

any evidence of / opinions on the parmeters of a IRC race yacht versus the factor it must "wear" under the rule ??

e.g. a traditional fractional kite versus a symmetrical masthead/ or a Assymmetrical on a Sprit ??

e.g. we have a set of jumper struts above the 'I' hounds point, this will be an extra set of 'upper' spreaders I guess, should we get rid of them ?? or is the penalty small ??

any other news for the amatuer to give us the knowledge to compete with the Pros re Optimisation

canting Sprit versus fixed/ versus a longer fixed (same extension of sail as a shorter canting you see, except very square running) ??????