HPs have the advantage over a longitudinally symmetrical multi-hull in that the sail area presented to the wind reduces by virtue of the lw hull increasing draft with increasing wind load and boat heel.  The shorter ww hull certainly reduces the tendency to torque the entire boat when beating.  The lw bow can be well buried and beginning to lift about the time the higher volume ww hull hits the wave and begins to lift.  The lw hull buries in the back of the wave while the ww hull leaves the wave.  Going to weather there is little tendency to roll.  Similar condition when the HP is tacking downwind; with both hulls leaving the wave at the same time while the lw hull burying into the back of the wave and begins to rise at the same time the ww hull gets to the back of the wave.  It is possible to experience annoying roll on the 18m HP if running dead downwind.  The annoyance is due to the mast being loose in its deck bearing and it flogs if the boat rolls to the ww side and there is no lateral wind load on the rig.  It is much more pleasant reaching downwind and also slightly higher VMG if frequent shunts are not required.  

A shunt is a very easy task on a HP.  There is little flogging or snatching of sails in a normal shunt.   When tacking a longitudinally symmetrical boat, the sails inevitably flog going through the wind and many headsails are not self-tacking; in a gybe the mainsail inevitably snatches as the boom goes through the wind. 

Something that people familiar with sailing slow boats need time to appreciate is the significance of apparent wind.  Most HPs are capable of boatspeed exceeding windspeed, the upside of a long, low volume lw hull.  That means that apparent wind plays a very large part in the loads on the rig. Alternatively it does not take much sail area to move well. Many experienced slow boat sailors have passed a comment that the wind has dropped when, in fact, they have allowed the sails to luff or stall causing boat speed to reduce resulting in loss of apparent wind.  Similarly comments have been made that the wind dropped after turning off the wind and running or being alarmed at the strength of the wind when turning from a run to go upwind.  Dead downwind, a  HP will achieve boatspeed around 60% of windspeed without increasing sail area; apparent wind is very low. Sailing at 14kts downwind in 25kts of wind without any increase in sail area can be very deceptive as to the actual strength of the wind.  Doing 8kts or so on a slow heavy boat with the kite up in 25kts of wind is a completely different experience; there is no doubt about the strength of the wind under those conditions.  

Rick