|> It makes sense for Australians to design boats without enclosed cockpits, but what excuse does Steinar have?

|​ Shade and warmth are essential, but so is being able to see the sails, waves, horizon, stars at night and the sun when it is not beating down.

Agreed, except the sun and stars. But the stars sound great! Stop staring at the sun Rob!

| The best way to achieve this on bigger boats is the rotating pedestal on the C50 and 60. See Rudders and Steering at http://harryproa.com/?p=1749.. Doug's solution on his El showed a solution for smaller boats. The 40 is a crossover and what is chosen depends on how the boat will be used.

Doug's solution was also used on Kleen Breeze, kinda, right? That seems the lightest, lowest cost fix. What is the proper name for Dougs fix? Rob makes a compelling argument for the open cockpit.
So, removable shelter? I mean, if there is two compelling interests, meet them both?

|Steinar and I are not big fans of sailing light weight boats in fresh breezes without being able to feel the wind on our faces. Sailing from inside in these conditions would not feel safe.

This is an interesting thing. Is the harryproa lighter and faster than most sailors experience? Do most cruisers cruise on reefed sails?
Is it unsafe, generally, to sail from an enclosed cabin?

| Solutions would include:
| deep reefing the sails and letting the autohelm handle it with regular checks to look around;

So, no cruising while sleeping? Does the Ex40 have good sight lines from inside?

| reaching fast to get sea room, then dropping the sails, lifting the rudders and waiting until the weather clears (good books, good company and a wide, shallow raft make this pleasant);

This sounds more like storm coping, not for gentle crappy weather.

| putting up with it helped by regular cups of hot soup and a warm cabin at the end of it.

Sounds like shoveling snow. The lightest cheapest option. But I have two Great Lakes sailors on this list that strongly suggest enclosed cabins. So I am torn.

I guess I can modify as I need after I build.

|​ The rudder angle (on two way rudders) is preset and adjustable, but cannot be changed while moving. It changes automatically when you shunt.​

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the adjustment for?

|​ Whipstaffs have a lot going for them, particularly with 2 way rudders where the movement required is not large. Actually, they are pretty good for one way rudders as well, as the large movement part is lightly loaded, mostly automatic once the boat starts moving post shunt. ​

How do whipstaffs compare to tiller extensions?
Are there any drawbacks?
Do they have strings or tubes to connect to the rudders?