Craig, I can't imagine why weight by itself would affect performance of the rudder. That's more of a geometry problem.
Now extra weight CAN (or WILL) affect the overall performance of the boat simply because it means the boat displaces more so as it moves through the water it will affect the water (resistance) more, and I think the general wisdom is that it's better to keep weight out of the ends of the boat as much as possible for pitching, although I don't have a good understanding of why that would generally be true. Sorry I can't be more help. Maybe Jerry or someone else will offer more. Tod _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
