The most salient human factor is sailing ability, highly skilled sailors will, by definition, sail faster than that less skilled sailors. An artifact of the rating system that is contrary to the notion of fair competition.Īpart from the boat, human factors play an important and obvious role in performance. Based on these “boat as built and modified” factors, a class rating fails to appropriately handicap the boat.Ī boat that is inherently faster than the class rating has an unfair advantage whereas a boat that inherently slower is at a disadvantage. Even with an expert crew the boat cannot be as competitive as a similar boat with an average crew. The net result is that some boats in a class are inherently slower than others. Finally, wear and tear and incidental damage, such as a wet core, may result in a heavier slower boat. While other modifications may add function and convenience at the expense of performance. Some modifications such as, replacing wire/rope halyards with light high tech lines and repowering with modern lighter engines yield a lighter faster boat. Over time any number of other modifications can be made that affect boat performance can be made. If the boat is built with an exceptionally low weight tolerance of +/- 1% two boats coming from the factory could have a 160 lb weight difference, increase that tolerance to 5% and the potential difference increases to 800 pounds. Weight differences can be quite substantial.Ĭonsider a typical 30-foot racer/cruiser with a design weight of 8,000 pounds. Hull weight is a factor in a boat’s speed, heavier hulls accelerate slower than light hulls of the same design and have lower top speeds. It is a fairly common assumption that mass-produced sailboats did not always meet designed weights, especially hand laid fiberglass hulls. Some differences can be attributed to optional equipment selected by the original owner, others to inconsistencies in the building process. While certainly not the intention of the builder or designer, all boats of a class do not leave the boat shed equally built. The resulting rating does provide a fair rating of a class of boats relative to another class of boats however, it is less successful when applied to an individual boat. PHRF attempts to calculate a fair rating for a class of boats by aggregating the results from multiple races sailed by multiple boats driven by multiple crews. And the boat as it was prepared and sailed. How fast a boat sails is dependent upon three broad factors. The implication of the ASP rating is that an optimal boat speed can be predicted based on past performance. The language of PHRF is revealing in its intention, boats are assigned an “Adjusted Speed Potential” based on a base rating and any adjustments due to common modifications such as oversized sails, roller furling, folding/feathering props, and so forth. Of interest here is the most commonly used performance handicapping rule, PHRF. Historically, sailboat handicapping has followed one of three traditions a one design rule, a measurement rule, and a performance handicap. Sailing is perhaps unique in that it handicaps boats and not sailors. Personal performance and course difficulty are considered in golf handicapping. Bowlers are handicapped based on personal performance relative to a league standard. Team sports such as softball are organized in leagues based on skill levels. An investigation into the effects of an Individual Performance Handicapping System on fleet competition at the local level by David Lochner and Richard White¹ at Oswego Yacht Club² in October 2015.įair competition is a central tenant in all athletic competition.
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