PHRF racing on an Oday 302? compared with others.

[sidw]

Any opinions on this? Pointing? downwind with a whisker pole? anything else? Or do I not buy it?

I am also looking at an 84 Jeanneau 30, and an 85 Tartan 28. Oh, also a 78 Pearson 28. Yeah, I know, all over the map.

 

[cb32863]

You can look up their numbers here if that helps. Boat Class Lookup - US Sailing

 

[shemandr]

Yup, all over the map!
What do you want? Put aside the price or value question. But realistically assess what you want to do with the boat. If you want all around racer/cruiser/daysailer The ODay 302 would probably be good. In PHRF Club racing and maybe regional races you could probably be competitive with excellent preparation. The older Tartan and Pearson probably can't cut it in competition. They are good sailers, but without extensive preparation and expense just won't compete with newer style boats. PHRF scoring can work pretty well to compare similar boats but when there is too much disparity the rule falls apart. For one thing faster and slower boats sail a different race. They will likely see different winds and currents and you just can't even that out with time.
The Jeanneau is dark horse to me. But I think of it as a Beneteau Sun Odessey series boat. That's the boat you want to be on at anchor for a day of Sun and fun. Sail/motor there and back, stay overnight if desired. Raft up with friends. I did plenty of that on the H356. Nothing wrong with that if that what's you want to do.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Well, you could choose a boat with relatively low PHRF because you like the idea of having better performance and find that you get killed because you can't sail to the rating. Or, you could choose a boat that sails like a slug but still does well in PHRF because it has a great (high) handicap relative to its actual performance. I think there is no way of knowing what will do well for racing unless you, yourself, have a great knowledge in handicapping boats. I don't think that is something that anybody can do for you. Sounds like you are not soooo much into racing, that it would be best to look for comfort & condition. You can tweak any of those boats you mention to improve performance. In the end, peak performance won't matter much when you are enjoying the beautiful sights of Narragansett Bay and the Islands off the coast in that area.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

You can look up their numbers here if that helps. Boat Class Lookup - US Sailing

I've never seen that source before ... it's far better than the source I've always used ... PHRF New England. If I had used your source on my Starwind 27, I could have had slightly better results in a few of the races I entered several years ago ... not that it mattered!

 

[shemandr]

PHRF and what boats can sail to their rating and which can't is bar room fodder that keeps the brewers and distilleries in business. They really should sponsor this forum.