We used to sail our 1985 C 25 swing keel in the up position all the time, unless the winds were strong enough to need it. The Chesapeake Bay in the summer is notoriously weak for wind. It was a different design than your model, as we had real cast iron ballast all low in the boat in the swing keel itself, & no water ballast. I'm not as experienced with water ballast boats, like the McGregor. But If you have the ballast tanks filled, & do not have the swing keel down, then under light conditions U may just experience the boat sliding sideways some upwind, without enough lateral resistance to overcome the prevailing wind & tide. I would not sail with the board up in heavy winds, because there will be a strong tendency to heal over to the point of rounding up or worse, capsizing. But most Catalinas have a tendancy to just round up into the wind & spill wind from their sails when they heel more than 25 degrees anyway. Better to be safe than sorry.
