I debated getting into this aspect of the problem when writing the original post. Two things stopped me: 1. My post was getting kinda long (didja notice?) and 2. my memory of Rick's remarks on this point are slightly hazy.



I believe the trials he cited showed that the gains upwind outweighed the losses (if any) downwind.



Speaking of possible losses downwind - I know you're talking about the 'lift to windward' that deflected rudders make, but here's a related point. On a downwind course, boards up/down is a debated question, or was... indicating it's a near thing if the extra leeway (which is distance "made good" on a DW course) is all that much more usefull than the extra boat speed you get when you resist leeway hence increasing the apparant wind. I guess it's like pointing vs footing - the different bonuses trade off, inexactly, yielding a sweet spot somewhere on the curve. Has the case been proven either way? I'd really like to know.



Finally, we're not talking about raking a typical boarded boat "all the way" back like a H16. A comparitively very moderate rake is all that is required in many cases to set up the right amount of ruddertrack.