Stuart Cresswell wrote:

RYA Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme (on which Dixie was based in 1961) uses
several Primary Yardstick classes so making it more a level "playing
field" in comparing classes' performances.

These include single-handed and two handed, una rigged, two sail and
three sail (with conventional and asymetric spis), modern and older
designs.

The biggest problem with the US Portsmouth system is that reported results
are few & far between. There is a great dearth of good numbers to crunch.

It would make sense to pick a larger number number of boat types to use as
inputs to the basic yardstick. From what I've seen & heard the RYA system
would be a far better model to follow.

FB
Doug King

The message
from DSK contains these words:

The biggest problem with the US Portsmouth system is that reported results
are few & far between. There is a great dearth of good numbers to crunch.

I was aware of that - and yet they profess to set numbers for four
different wind speed ranges.

That is something which we believe cannot be done centrally, even with
the large amount of data we have. That does not include different PNs
for different wind strengths. I know that clubs do use different PN s
for light and heavy winds (divide about 8-10 knots), but that data does
not come in our returns.

I believe that the only way that USS can calculate such statistics is
analysis of race results sent in to them with details of wind strength.
Unfortunately that service to clubs has (at least) one major defect.
There is no allowance made for the different skills being deployed by
each of the crews. The effect is that the analysis of races produces
some sort of Personal Handicap (like a golf handicap which is more
concerned with balancing skills of competitors than with balancing the
designed speed potentials of the boats we use).

Estimation of these skills (we call it Crew Skill Factor or CSF) and
allowing for them is something we in Britain are very keen on.
Unfortunately it is not easy and I have been doing a lot of research on
it. At present I have an experiement running with the cooperation of a
local club which has a wide range of skills (world champions to basic
club two or three races a year sailors). It seeks to minimise the brain
activity of the handicap officer and the subjectivity of the judgement.
When (assuming that it is as successful as I anticipate) I will be
publishing the method.

It would make sense to pick a larger number number of boat types to use as
inputs to the basic yardstick. From what I've seen & heard the RYA system
would be a far better model to follow.

Thank you for that encouragement. We try hard to satisfy our sailing
clientel and that means to be the best empirical handicapping sytem in
the world.

Stuart