Hi all,

from a technical point of view, Jake is right about the sweep effect on feel (or correctly named: the hinge moment), if the axis is swept with the rudder blade.
Sweeping the whole rudder + axis affects the distribution of lateral area (smaller effect) and the flow over the blade. Sweeping backward is good for highly tapered foils in terms of drag but worse in terms of maximum lift and vice versae.

However there is one common misunderstanding in one of the posts: Aircraft have no minimum drag, if they are 'balanced' (e.g. without control surface applied). And in consequence the deflection of a rudder of a sail boat does not necessarily create more drag (as long as the deflection is reasonable small). That is because the rudder is in the wake of the daggerboards and if deflected in the right direction, there is an interaction, which creates a pushing (forward) force. Sorry, no pictures at the moment, because I have to go for sailing now.

Cheers,

Klaus