How does it sail???

The short answer is, she sails great, I think.  See, I don't really know because I've never sailed any other boats in this size range. In fact, this is the only ballasted boat I have ever sailed, so I don't have a good reference at all (I sailed sunfish and a JY14 just a few times before this).  My impression is this:  it is stiff up to 10-12 knots of wind.  At a certain point (around 12 knots apparent), it heels more than you would expect (I don't know how many degrees, but the lee rail is about 4-6" above water line), I suspect due to the rounded hull shape.  After that, it is stiff again and frankly it is difficult to get it to go past that point.

Here's how I feel about the heeling: it heels a bit more than I would expect given its size and weight (the 189 square feet of sail probably has a bit to do with that).  Once it heels a bit though, it settles into a very stable and stiff platform.  It doesn’t seem to want to go over any more after that. It is also nice that it has such high cockpit coamings, as even with the lee rail in the water you're no where near putting water in the cockpit.

I've had it in about 20-25 knots of wind under full main and jib and I was fairly comfortable with it (though my kids were a bit scared) and the lee rail was just about at the water line.  It probably could use a reef in the main before then (there is one reef point), but you can do without it if you have to.  She seems to balance better with the genoa and main, by the way, and the jib probably matches the reefed main above say 15-18 knots.

I also can't comment very well on how fast she is.  I can say that she is almost certainly faster than the Bristol Corinthian which is considered her sister ship (the Conquest has a 17.5' waterline vs the Corinthian 14.5'). Also, the Conquest hull is much flatter in the aft end with rounded bilges as opposed to the wineglass shaped Corinthian. (If you are wondering why these two boats are considered sisters when they are so different, keep wondering.  It must simply be the fact that they are the same length and made by the same manufacturer).

With 189 sq feet of sail up (main and jib), I would say she is about as fast as an Oday 20 or Balboa 20 which have nearly identical sail area, displacement and waterline lengths. She is very good in light air. I once had her on a broad reach in light airs (maybe 3-5 knots of wind) and we paced a Catalina 22 for over an hour, so that may be a fair reference as well. The Catalina was flying a big genoa and I was just on main and jib.