Roger Long wrote:
....

If Cecil isn't too busy packing, he should be along soon to point out that
only boats with outboard rudders that are painted yellow can be considered
seaworthy.

In my dinghy/daysailing days I thought a balanced spade rudder was the
be all/end all of rudders. Now I appreciate my skeg hung rudders as a
number of my sister ships with spade rudders have bent their posts on
"uncharted obstructions."

Catamarans of course have an issue since the keels are usually only
slightly deeper than the rudders, so strikes are common. Fortunately,
there are two large rudders so if one is jammed, they can be decoupled
and steered independently. Our forum has a number of threads on the
straightening of posts, and several boats actually carry spare rudders!

Since mine was fitted with diesels (most of the sister ships had
outboards) the rudders are skeg mounted so the skeg can support the
extra weight when beached. Although it makes for a bit more effort and
less maneuverability, I can go through skinny water with more confidence.