I could be mistaken on this, but I
think that if you plan to use a front rack (to do the 60% of the load weight in front, and 40% in the rear, weight distribution thing), you would need a rigid fork.
As for fenders, I think you could probably use the seatpost/clip-on ones, like the ones on the bottom of the page here:
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_l...=1142909217543