"DSK" wrote in message

Maxprop wrote:
So he beat them at their own game regularly. The SS 34 is easily as
quick as a Catalina 34, which is probably why they do so well in handicap
racing. Her PHRF rating is a gift, compliments of Bill Luders.


Umm, Jeff is right. PHRF is not a measurement rule, it's a performance
rating. If you beat your handicap by a lot, the rating committee is
supposed to adjust it downward (faster) a little.

I believe you are right. However, considering that there were only 46 Sea
Sprite 34s built, and most of them never saw a handicap race course, it
stands to reason that the few of them that have raced *may* have been
handled poorly by their owner/skippers, yielding a high numerical rating.
Most SS 34s are class-raced, not PHRF raced, so the rating wouldn't change.
What I do know is that I can sail my boat well beyond her rating,
considering that the Catalina 34 rates at 144 with a fin keel, and I can
consistently leave them behind on all points of sail, save hard to windward,
where we roughly equal each other. Same with a Tartan 34 (older) with a
keel/CB. The C34s and the Tartans have been sailed by competent sailors,
since you were bound to question this. They've been as surprised by my boat
as have I. When on the hard, they shake their heads when they see her
modified full keel.

Boats,such as the J35, which were sailed by professional teams en masse when
it first was released, have ratings to which the average sailor cannot sail.
This supports your contention that the PHRF ratings do change with racing
results.

My boat placed second in its class in the Chicago Mac with her former owner.
I don't know if PHRF is the handicap rating used in that race or not.

Max