Unless you have something like a shorter than normal bowsprit or or a ballast problem, which I don't think you have, you shouldn't be much different than any other Westsail. I don't think raking the mast forward is the answer. Bud's method is the best way I know of to determine mast rake. You're only dealing with a couple of inches +/-, almost impossible to tell from the dock. We've been all over with mast rake. From 18" when we bought the boat to vertical now (a mistake). We've found that @ 4" of mast rake with very, very little bend is just about optimal for us. But a lot depends on the sails and how they are cut.
Your problem sounds like one a friend had on his WS 32. It was a combination of sail trim and underestimating wind speed. When close to the edge a knt. or two will make a lot of difference. Most WS need to reef at about 15 Knts, a little less for a full batten main. With full sails we are starting to be overpowered at 15 Knts. and are overpowered 18. You also might try using tell-tails on the main as main luffing doesn't work as well on full batten mains. Something I learned from Dave King is not to over trim the the sails. He thinks most of us over trim, I know we do/did. With proper sail trim and reefing soon enough you will be able to sail as well as most.
It's just my opinion, but I've found Westsails to be some of the easiest boats to sail, but difficult to sail well.
Jim
