I installed the new rudders and gudgeons last week and sailed the Alter Cup D north event over the weekend. We had 8-12 winds, so it was not a good test for when the wind picked up. I didn't make any adjustments except for the bolt on the tiller arm needed to be moved slightly back to allow it to lock down. They did appear to be tucked under the boat more, however not necessarily raked more. It as if the rudder rotates with a more centered axis. With no adjustments, I had a slight weather helm upwind and lee helm downwind. I used the same holes to mount the gudgeons as the old ones. The new gudgeons are in 2 parts with 6 holes each. The old ones were a one-piece gudgeon with 10 holes. The 4 upper and lower holes matched up with the new gudgeons. So I just put the center bolts back in to plug those holes and I left 2 of the holes on each gudgeon without mounting them yet. Without drilling new holes, it appears as though there is about a 1/4 inch gap on the rudder pin between the lower gudgeon and the rudder casting. I'm not crazy about the rudder being able to slide up and down the pin, but it didn't create any slop. I would think that with any load it would not be an issue.

So how did they perform??? The jury is still out. They must have felt different, cause I found myself pinching more than normal the first couple of races. I also noticed that unless you get your weight on the bow that they would send up a nice roster tail. To me, they didn't feel too sensitive cause I had no problem jerking my crew around. I do think I was able to tack smoother.

Unfortunately my season is done on the F18 for the season, so it'll be next spring to tweak them more.