Re: [Paddlewise] She needed a rudder

"...reducing the waterline length edging the boat in
effect equaling the additional effort of the drag from a well adjusted
rudder (which I speculate may add to waterline length)?"

In rough windy conditions, most touring paddlers will not be going near
hull speed and I doubt that the difference in waterline length between a
boat being heeled for steering purposes and a boat on the flat would be
significant in terms of resistance. If you are "surfing" downwind going
down the face of big waves the situation is a little different. Here you
might be going faster than "Hull Speed" A rudder here is helpful to many.
But in this situation, you are largely concerned with how well your boat
surfs irrespective of the presence or absence of a rudder.

In terms of a rudder adding to the length of a boat. This just does not
work. You cannot glue the end of a two foot "stick" to the end of your
boat below the waterline and expect the boats "effective" waterline length
to be increased by two feet.


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