Sailing with one rudder up & the other rudder down

When do you sail with one rudder up & the other rudder down?
What is the advantage?
Which rudder is up - windward or leeward?
Thank you!

Downwind with one rudder. Leeward stays down. Less drag is the only advantage that I know of. If you don't have good cams/locking mechanism you can have problems. In heavy air its probably not worth the effort. Theres too many other things to worry about.

I don't worry about it when I am just out goofing around on the lake but if I race I make very sure to life the windward rudder on the downwind leg, especially if the leg is long. I figure that that tiny bit of less resistance might help!

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

Thanks for explaining this. I've seen others sailing with one rudder up before, but I never knew why.
Both rudders kicked up yesterday while sailing in the ocean when I came across a large patch of kelp. I put the leeward rudder back down & sailed the rest of the afternoon with the windward rudder up on all points of sail until I returned through the channel & into Mission Bay. I was on starboard until then so I didn't have to put my starboard rudder back down until I gybed at the end of the channel. I don't know if I was sailing faster due to less resistance, but my H-16 seemed easier to steer with just one rudder down.

Some of the top racers sail with one up, on all points of sail.

Upwind it can be risky as you can cavitate the one rudder more easily.

I have always found the steering to be better with one up on a reach and down wind. Both down causes more drag and some conflict between them.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)