I built a Guillemot L a few years back and loved the boat when I paddled in light breezes and little chop. But when the wind built to 15 mph and the seas to one foot, the boat became totally unmanageable. I retrofitted a retractable skeg and now she handles great in any type of seas up to two feet and 20 mph winds. I can fine tune the retractible skeg to give the boat weather helm or lee helm in most any condition.

I am not a big fan of rudders either. Rudders are fragile, require frequent maintainence, and IMHO add too much complexity to what is supposed to be the simplest of boats.