By raking the rudders you move the center of effort on the rudders closer to or further from the pivot point in the gudgeons. So, in essence the torque is the same, but if you feel it or not is the difference.
Absolutely true! So the same forces that were fed back through the tiller as 'weather helm' are still acting on the boat; the boat is 'fighting itself' and you are going slower as a result. This feedback is actually useful for trimming the boat properly. The trick is to resolve these forces rather than make the rudders more balanced WRT center of lift and center of pivot thus reducing the feedback. Give the engineers some credit for having supplied the correct amount of feedback before you go changing it. Moving the center of effort of the sails, especially the main, is usually the best way to do this. Changing the mast rake is one way. The solution might be as simple as releasing the traveler a couple of inches to the lee side.
Jimbo
