The only thing I can talk about is the standard CLC rudder. I was out sailing today in moderate wind with some brisk gusts and lots of huge waves from passing wave machines. When I was seated on the center thwart, I was at times a bit concerned about broaching. When I moved to the rear thwart, the boat sailed a bit better. The nose was higher and didn't pound into the waves as much, and the concern about broaching vanished. I'm not sure if this is helpful info, but it's all I have.

   I've build the clc designed kick up rudder so I don't have a comparable design to sail. My question is if you reduce the surface area on the kick up as described with the blue tape, is that going to change the handling dynamics? Especially going upwind. The problem with mine is that the rudder falls off to port probably because of the weight on top, tiller extension. I actually snapped it last week and am in the process of gluing it together. If your prototype sails with the decreased surface area I souls think smaller and lighter is better. I believe you have both the kick up and fixed rudder, which one sails best? Let us know. Your posts are always interesting, Dan 

   I've been thinking about your comment that your prototype feels a bit sluggish. The obvious question is, "Compared to what?" I have only the standard rudder and would be interested in comparing it to other designs. But I do find that the standard rudder rounds the boat into the wind quite smartly. To the extent that there is a problem with sluggishness, it arises from the lack of mass -- and hence momentum -- in the boat itself. The combination of wind and wave can easily sap the momentum and leave the boat in irons. I don't think that rudder design can do much to alter that.

The very shallow design of the standard rudder could obviously contribute to broaching and might sap responsiveness compared to a deeper rudder. But won't a deeper rudder create more drag and have some adverse effect on top speed? Thus, a gain in one area could lead to a loss in another. I'd love to learn the results on any testing you do.