Laser 13 rig settings

I have found that I think I am keeping flat, but when you look at a video, nothing like flat, even using a bubble indicator. Difficult to keep up the concentration in a blustery strong wind, I am too busy sailing the boat, so, Sam is right, very rarely can you do anything other than trying to keep flat hence a touch of weather helm, I think it gives you quicker feedback on what the boat is trying to do, just my opinion though.

The more vertical the rudder the less 'feel' you have (or the lighter the rudder, it's one of the reasons why I dislike the Laser) but having a vertical or balanced rudder does not affect 'weather helm' as such it just reduces the effort required to combat it. A boat with too much weather helm will mean you need to angle the rudder to correct it which is slow. Weather helm caused by not keeping the boat flat is the usual cause but if the boat is unbalanced even when flat you still have the problem of the angled rudder acting as a brake.

Weather Helm- when you fall over in the boat, do you want it to round up towards the wind, or bear away and speed up? It's to do with where the centre of lateral resistance is compared to the centre of effort.
Nothing to do with rudder shape or angles. If you sail heeled, it is hull shape causing the boat to round up, meaning you have to counteract by bearing away the "weather helm" the rudder feels. In a yacht designed to be sailed heeled, the rudder will be neutral at the designed angle of heel, if the designer got their sums right.

In a Laser 13, the mast position is set, so mast rake will alter your CofE, so with no cheat sheet, trial and error will give you your answer, though I doubt a couple of holes on a chain plate will make much difference.

A nice barn door rudder will turn a slow, heavy boat nicely where a narrow blade would simply not have enough bite.
Still doesn't explain why the Laser will happily change masts, sails and controls, but not the rudder. Should have done it 49 years ago.

Actually just allowing the blade angle to be free would be a virtually no cost mod that would improver the feel of the boat immeasurably.