drskew wrote:
Well, I must be missing something. What's the advantage of mounting
these on your rudder, vs. a simpler, cheaper, and more reliable
transom mounted trolling motor?

I asked the same question and I can think of only 2 possibilities.

1) Aesthetics. He's a traditionalist and doesn't want to spoil the
"look".
.......or......
2) He's into serious sailboat racing, looking for competitive
advantage, and he's up to sumthin' against the rules! ;-)

Rick