Size May Not Be Everything
Susan, The 23, I believe has a stub keel like the 25/26. If this is true, you should be able to sail with the centerboard up or down, and the stub will give some directional control, you will have less slipping with the board down on a beam run though. I personally would not make the rudder any longer as it is designed to be slightly shorter than the bottom of the stub keel (a little insurance against tearing the rudder if grounded.) If the rudder is about to come out of the water due to heeling, you might want to reef sooner and get the boat back on its feet. If on the other hand, there is a lot of pressure on the tiller, making it difficult to control, you might consider balancing the rudder, that is adjust it so that some of the blade is forward of the pivit point. If I'm not anywhere near the question, just ignore my rambling, its happened before. Ben Allen Montgomery, AL "Latte Dah" O'Day 26
