John,

Welcome to the club !

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Personally I would keep the tiller at the given length. You need it that long when trapezing upwind singlehandedly. Also it is the lighest and most dependable setup after you get used to it. This allows you to quickly pick the stick up out of the water during fact gybes etc. When sailing with a crew learn to lay the tiller on your shoulder and steer like that. That solves the "poking eye out" syndrom completely and allows you to occasionally use both hands without dropping the tiller.

There should not be major weatherhelm on the boat. Either your rudders are not kicked under sufficiently or you have to much mast rake. Make sure your rudder are rotating fully forward when you cleat them. Check by putting your hand in the water and pull the board forward.You probably need to rotate the rudder boards down quickly so the momentum will kick them fully under. Do you have a rod or line system for locking your rudders into place ?

Wouter