The serious flaw in PHRF is the fact that a boats rating might get
adjusted to advantage by a history of not attracting effective crews



Correct! When 35s5's, Farr's and 36.7's are crewed by pro's and semi
pro's, it can be tough to measure up to a well sailed Catalina 30 than
hardly has a history of attracting a pro crew. My friend's Catalin 30
wins often by that simple fact, beating out more serious racers. The
more serious boat needs a serious crew at times to beat it's less
seriously crewed cousins.
It's the fatal flaw of PHRF. When talking to a few friends about racing
the 35s5 and looking at the racings, they all said we'd have to sail
the 35s5 with far more skill than an old Ericson, Columbia or Pearson
to win. Most of my friends race one design. While PHRF racing is still
a valuable learning tool, it's too much of a mess to be taken
seriously!

Boat for boat is all that matters when two vessels are of roughy the
same dimensions.


RB
35s5...a damn fast boat!
NY