Again, for the paddling venues I enjoy, which the is rougher water stuff in rocks and surf, I personally prefer not to have a rudder on my boat. When I come out (wet exit) of a sit inside kayak, I am next to a water filled (100 lb plus) “log” bouncing around. I prefer to not have a protruding piece attached to the “log” that can be dropped on or pushed across my body by water action.
One of my initial kayaks was the CD Squall with a rudder. It was not a great surfer. I was leery of the rudder when swimming in small surf stuff but never got cut by it. I got rid of the boat because it was a lousy surfer but I don’t miss having to worry about a rudder in the surf zone either.
Couple of years later, I became a dedicated sit inside kayak surfer. Even these relatively small (7.5-8.5’ long) sit in side surf rides become very “hard to hang on to” when filled with water. It’s much harder with a longer sea kayak. As a result, I (and my wetsuit) have been cut by surf fins when getting thrashed around in the surf zone.
Again, my personal choice is just that - mine for what I do. Don’t construe my choice as making a judgement about yours or someone else’s skills or whatnot because of their preference and use of a rudder, skeg, or none of the above. YMMV and it is certainly your choice to make for what you do.
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