By eliminating compromises in accommodation and ballast, the Shaw has moderate stability with planing performance downwind starting at around 10 knots under kite. Trimming, using angles and crew weight play a major role in performance; good trim makes a significant difference. Generally, keeping the boat flat is fastest both upwind and down. On a 2 sail reach, the boat almost requires, like most sportboats, to get flat to plane up, and then the boat can be steered into the wind as it powers along on the plane.

Compared to the non hiking restrictions in some other sportboats, the Shaw has a well designed and comfortable hiking position, resulting in increased righting moment and performance. The idea of sailing a sportboat with limitations on hiking is a bit like owning a race car but only driving in low gear.

The hull is easily driven with volume to support up to 5 crew and still achieve planing performance. Sufficient volume in the bow ensures effortless planing performance in higher winds without nose diving, while also enabling full water line length upwind and good performance in light conditions or chop.
At around 10 knots, the boats starts to unlock downwind, and moves into a semi planing mode; at a little over this, the boat is fully planing and moving close to wind speed downwind; with the skipper and trimmer coordinated to ensure the boat stays planing, driving in a bit of an S pattern using waves and trim to keep the boat flat.

Compared to sportboats with more ballast, the Shaw planes up earlier, and has lower sheet loads with a smaller rig required to keep the boat powered, which in turn saves weight and thus reduces ballast.
The boat performs best in anything above 12 knots, where the boat is consistently planing downwind; as wind strength builds, the boat remains easy to control downwind even in winds up to 30 knots. For consistent 20+ knots, changing down to a smaller jib and kite are recommended.