PHRF for Hunter 40.5 and adjustments

cb32863 · Mar 14, 2018

I would contact the race committee or whoever at the club you are racing at is in charge of determining your PHRF handicap. There can be adjustments for any number of things.

Calif. Ted · Mar 14, 2018

I think these web pages from the Chesapeake PHRF do a good job of explaining the basic methodology of ratings and answers many of your questions.
http://www.phrfchesbay.org/page/ratings

jmce1587 · Mar 14, 2018

Check out local PHRF committee for your area. Think this link may apply to your area. http://www.byscnet.com/about/racing/phrf-frostbite/bysc-valid-phrf-ratings

Then look for similar boats with sails, boat info as yours to determine an overall rating.

For comparison with other PHRF ratings in other areas check out ratings for GYA-phrf.com for coastal Louisiana to Florida. Also for Texas coast check out Galveston Bay Cruising Association at Gbca.org Good luck.

Calif. Ted · Mar 14, 2018

I did a search through the PHRF on Chesapeake and most 40.5's are rated 111 across the board with a few being 111, 120, 120. Have fun but if they give you a 111, don't bother writing an acceptance speech for the trophy. These guys were all over 75 and the boat was rated 240 or higher, I saw them win all 3 races one afternoon on corrected time. Thank goodness they all retired this year and the boat is up for sale.

JamesG161 · Mar 14, 2018

Here is a link to regional clubs.
http://www.ussailing.org/racing/offshore-big-boats/phrf-fleet-contact-directory/
Jim...

PS: One 40.5 in our Gulf Coast Association = 132

Rick D · Mar 14, 2018

I have a "Corinthian" rating in SoCal PHRF. It basically applies a cruising adjustment for non-dedicated race boats. This is a new form of rating. Previously, each club applied it's own cruising adjustment (if any). So, my adjustment for the Corintian rating is +21. It is derived from +6 each for Dacron jib & main, +6 for R/F jib, +3 for a 135 genoa. I have a folding prop and would have an allowance if it were fixed. If the main were R/F, there would be another adjustment as there would be for a chain anchor rode in the bow. You can go to phrfsocal.org and look up my rating certificate for sail number 46480. So, the base rate is 108 buoy, 102 RLC & OWC. Of course, these vary a lot by area. There is no adjustment for skipper or crew in SoCal PHRF although some clubs may add one. I think that used to be more popular than now. Tough to manage. Have fun!

JamesG161 · Mar 14, 2018

My PHRF =141, but get to add 7 for my Grey Hair[

] so it is 148.

Not much to "lobby" about if I was racing you.

Jim...

Andrew D · Mar 23, 2019

Hi All,
Late to the game on this post. Bottom line is depending on what you committed feels is standard breeze, a reasonable rating for a fully equipped 1996 40.5 is 138-139. My boat has a 132 and I was a 135 but YRALIS dropped a crew rating last year. Boat is loaded for cruising except the anchor. I have a genset and 4D batteries (Not so fast in the cockpit locker) - Never stand a chance in Long Island Sound summer breeze against the stripped out J30s who kept their 144 ratings. I have a folding prop and racing sails 3DL 150 Genoa and a big roach fully battened main.

Jackdaw · Mar 24, 2019

Lots of good advice and real world experience given so far. The only thing that I would add is that if you want to be competitive, get a folding prop if you don’t have one. The +3 or +6 credit you get for a fixed prop in no way compensates for the time lost in light airs. In light airs you probably lose 30 seconds a mile to a fixed three blader.

Davidasailor26 · Mar 24, 2019

Jackdaw said:
The +3 or +6 credit you get for a fixed prop in no way compensates for the time lost in light airs. In light airs you probably lose 30 seconds a mile to a fixed three blader.

No doubt. I've done the comparison since adding a folding prop. In 6 knot winds the folding prop is about 60 seconds per mile better. In 4 knot winds (lots of nights around here) the difference goes up to over 5 minutes/mile. In winds from 9-12 knots the folder is still basically break even with the PHRF penalty. Above that the folder gets faster again for our boat, as the fixed prop caused a lot of turbulence over the rudder and caused stalls.

Jackdaw · Mar 24, 2019

smokey73 said:
I have a Maxprop 3 blade already. I don't have racing sails and the stock 40.5 sails. I have a light air sail available (basically a Code 0 or similar) on a furler that I can use in place of the Genoa. Does that generally place me in the Spinnaker Class or is that in the judgement of the committee? They don't give any extra time here for a "beginner" captain and crew.

PHRF was designed to rate the difference in speed potential between race-optimized boats. Initially very few credits were given, mostly for props. Now headsail credit has become popular for boat flying smaller than 150% headsails. So-called 'Corinthian' (a poor word actually) fleets will give credit for all sorts of crazy stuff. Crews are almost NEVER handicaped, because the whole concept is to take the BOAT out of the equation, leaving only the crew as the difference maker. Handicap the crew, and whats left??

Unlike newer Hunters, your boat is designed to fly overlapping headsails. Depending on your PHRF rules, that might mean that you are expect to fly up to a 150%. You MIGHT get credit if you always fly a smaller sail. But if you ever use that other sail, all bets are off.

Question; does that sail replace your headsail (meaning you swap them on the furler), or do you fly it in front of the forestay?

Kings Gambit · Mar 24, 2019

smokey73 said:
Thanks, I have just decided to try and enter the race and know they will assign the rating. Just wondering what to expect as reasonable. I'm guessing they will use the number from Charleston which is 120. It won't really matter a few seconds either way as right now I'm just learning and won't be pushing the limits but its nice to know what to expect. The rub is possibly in the future. It seems like once assigned (at least down here) its fixed in concrete and I don't want to start off with an unreasonable number and then be locked into that. I know that for a particular kind of Catboat that we have down here they have a huge (like 240 PHRF) and they always win just about every race based on corrected time, even over the faster serious racers. They are good sailors but so are the skippers on the serious racing boats. It causes a little friction. Seems to me that if they win everything they should adjust the PHRF for them so that its more even but they don't seem to want to do that. That's why I think its a good idea to make sure I get a favorable rating that is reasonable for the local conditions.

Here in So Cal any member of PHRF can request a review of a another yacht’s rating, in addition to your own. There’s a form. The handicapping committee meets regularly to act on the reviews along with its other business. The meetings and agendas are announced in advance.

Regarding review of your own yacht’s rating, the information requested from the owner/skipper the last time I looked at the form, several years ago, included the amount of time the skipper had been racing with the same crew. In other words, a skipper in a new boat w/ a green crew probably would not get serious consideration for adjusting the rating upward (i.e., slower). It’s not actually the experience of the crew generally. It’s the experience of your crew racing on your yacht w/ you as skipper that must be “zeroed out” for a committee to look only at the yacht’s potential performance wrt sails, bottom, rigging, & etc., to adjust a rating. The figure of one year of crew experience on your yacht and the results of at least five recent races sticks in my mind as necessary for the review to have much chance. They also wish to know the age and type (material) of the sails, and the bottom cleaning program for your yacht. Also, FYI, don’t expect big adjustments from a ratings review. These are done in increments of 3 sec/mile.

Kings Gambit · Mar 24, 2019

Jackdaw said:
So-called 'Corinthian' (a poor word actually) fleets will give credit for all sorts of crazy stuff.

Yeah, it’s not the best use of Corinthian. Few seem to know that “Corinthian” does not really mean sportsmanship-like behavior or that we are all “brothers” in the sport of sailing/racing, etc.; its present-day connotations. Or, that it is not synonymous with “fairness.” It means that the owner w/ his crew of buddies, as opposed to paid, professional crew, are racing the yacht. “Corinthian” yacht clubs are clubs where that type of racing is sponsored. At least initially, way back when. That concept of “Corinthian” racing has been seriously challenged lately with inclusion of “industry representatives” as crew on many PHRF yachts. These folks are usually professional sail markers. [I’m speaking here outside the scope of customer service installing a new sail, etc.] Also, America’s Cup Racing would not be considered “Corinthian.”

Jackdaw · Mar 24, 2019

smokey73 said:
I fly it in front of the forestay on a furler attached to the anchor bail (reinforced fitting) hauled up with the spinnaker haylard. It does not fly at the same time as the Genoa.

Now it depends on the sails mid girth. If the mid girth is more than 50% of the foot length, it’s Spinnaker. If it’s less it’s a very big Genoa.

If it’s a spinnaker, you can only fly it in spin class. If it’s a Genoa, you can fly it in any class, but you have to register it as your largest headsail.

PHRF for Hunter 40.5 and adjustments

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