[Paddlewise] To Rudder?

Yup, I use a rudder on all my boats so equipped.  Seems like the right
thing to have, too.  Those boats are big, and have hull forms which do
not lend themselves readily to leaned or swept turns.  Sometimes they
weathercock, depending on how they are loaded.  And loaded is how I use
them, because they are designed for extended trips.  Yeah, I CAN paddle
them without a rudder, but it seems silly to cast aspersions on the use
of a rudder for these boats.  I'm fairly meaty and pretty strong.  If
someone smaller were paddling one of these boats, the rudder would be
even more critical to bring the boat around in difficult conditions,
making the rudder a safety issue.

Got a smaller boat, a plywood stitch and glue I built, which does not
have a rudder.  Does not need it -- for my use, anyway.  However, my SO
thinks she would feel more comfortable if it had one, because she is not
adept at leaned/swept turns, and she is uneasy in a following sea when
the stern wiggles (pre-broaching behavior).  She loves to paddle the
boat because it is light and responsive.  If she were stuck in gnarly
conditions with it, sans rudder, and got into trouble, I'd feel bad if
I'd taken a hard-ass attitude about the rudder issue.  Turns out she
only paddles it on easy trips, so I'm not going to put a rudder on it,
for my own aesthetic, selfish reasons.

Seems like it's kind of arch to take a dogmatic approach to the
rudder/nonrudder issue.  Almost poe-tay-toe versus poe-tah-toe, except
for the "what would you do if the rudder failed" argument.  Don't have a
good rejoinder for that one.  I think if my SO could not get her boat
headed where she wanted it because the rudder was disabled, I'd HELP her
get pointed in the correct direction.  And so it goes ...

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
A big guy in the rudder department
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