Just moved up to a Fanatic Ultra Cat - have questions

[Denny]

I just moved up from a Windsurfer 1 board that I played around with off and on for 20 years to a 12' Fanatic Ultra Cat with a Mistral adjustable mastbase. I like it a lot but I have a lot of things to learn. Mast foot placement for one. I am 6' tall & about 200 Lbs. I had a hard time sailing close to the wind the last time I had it out. Where should the mast foot be placed in light winds vs heavy winds? I am a novice so when I say light winds probably less than 15 knots. Is there a strategy WRT mast placement for sailing close hauled vs sailing downwind?

Another question concerns on the centerboard. At what point should I retract it? My old board it was always down.