MIne has a rudder, but I have never tried running without it. I have heard,(and seen on youtube) that the rudder can help you from spinning out during high speed turns. It makes sense, since most jet boats have a pretty flat hull, and combine that with thrust vectoring, it seems that you could spin out, or roll a jet pretty easily. I'm pretty new to jet boating, and I may be way off, but it does seem like even a small rudder could help prevent spinning.