In my opinion, Stealth B is not that bad of a ship. Sure, it's got one of the most power hungry and longest charging weapon in the game, starts without shields, and low engines, but it is an absolute monster when you use it right. First course of action is to upgrade stealth to level 3, then save 125 for shields, and you are nigh-invincible for a while. Drones are a pain before shields, but just cloak when they are about to shoot into weapons or cloaking and you are fine... Here is a screenshot of my victory on normal with stealth B...got a score of 5705 and didn't take any hull damage. The Hull Repair Drone you see in the corner, I think I bought it sector 3, and I never used it once .
Won on Hard: All ships!
Won on CE Hard: Kestrel A, Engi C, Federation B, Zoltan C, Slug A, Rock B
I never had many complaints about the Stealth B. Except for when the enemy has a magnetic attraction to grazing Weapons just before the beam hits 100% charge and then setting it on fire for good measure.