PHRF racing on 376

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John McLaughlin

Just bought a '97 Hunter 376 in Sept. I'm a real novice at sailing big boats, but have been racing small beach catamarans for 20 years in one-design and Portsmouth regattas. This past weekend we went out for a PHRF scored regatta on the 376 in the non-spin class. We finished dead last on corrected time because we didn't have a PHRF Rating for our boat and got no adjustment. I don't have a clue where to get such a rating number. Can anyone tell me what the PHRF rating is for the stock Hunter 376 (Main and very small Jib) or how to go about getting it. I really enjoyed racing these big boats, but it would be a lot more interesting if we had some idea of how we placed. Also, is any one racing a Hunter w/spinnaker? Any suggestions on how/what/where to acquire a decent asymetrical one. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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Doug T.

PHRF

Each sailing association sets it's own PHRF ratings. The link below has an assortment of links of interest. A No. CA site has your boat listed at 108, the New England site has it as 120 (for shoal draft model). The association you race with should be able to tell you how to get a PHRF rating for your particular boat in your particular area.
 
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Mark Burrows

PHRF on the Chesapeake

John: PHRF for Chesapeake Bay is done by PHRF of the Chesapeake, Inc. There web site show the PHRF rating for other 375s around 120-150 while 380s are at 110. There is a 376 that races with the Herrington Harbor Sailing Assoc at Herring Bay with a rating of 120. Since the rating is based on a range of factors, you have to get your specific boat rated. Mark
 
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steve

Not the best boat for racing

I have been racing my deep keel 376 for three years in a non-spinnaker section with poor results. Unfortunately, the Lake Michigan PHRF does not rate the boat favorably (110 base/123 non-spin rating) despite the small headsai, roller furling and clew that is very high. Of course, practice helps, but even Ted Turner could not place in the top half of my fleet racing a 376 with standard roller furling sails. That said, the 376 is a wonderful cruising boat and we enjoy every weekend on the boat during the summer. My only complaint is wide-spread gel coat cracking on the deck. Hunter only took care of a very small portion of the total cost to remedy the problem because the boat is now out of warrantee.
 
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John McLaughlin

Thanks much to all of you for your HELP

I've checked out the Chesapeake PHRF site and will be applying for my rating. The 120 at least gives me some idea how we did. Regardless, I do get a kick out of racing this big lead sled -- particularly at the start! Thanks again, John
 
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Rick Dalton

h380 PHRF

I'm the guy that's trying to race the 380 on SF Bay. I currently have a rating of 123. Furling main(no battens), furling tiny jib, fixed 2-blade prop., Deep draft. I am still finishing well into the bottom half of the fleet with corrected time. I've been competing with it for over 2 years now. I've also been in direct contact with the YRA in regards to changing the rating again. There comment was for me to go ahead and send in the $30.00, and they'd give me another 3 seconds a mile. At that rate I think I should just send them about $1,000.00 so I can get the 150 rating the boat needs. Good Luck. Rick Dalton, rdalton@bayint.com
 
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marc dupre

Successfully racing Hunter Legend 40

I have been racing various boats since 1981,mostly dedicated racers;Tarten Ten,Soveral 33,DB-2. Two years ago I purchased a used Hunter 40 Legend series and upgraded all the deck hardware and running rigging to make sail trim and handeling more efficient and faster and purchased new cruising sails cut for racing and have been very successfull against most dedicated racing boats, wining consistently in the A (spinnaker) and B (non spinnaker) devisions. You need to optimise your boat with upgraded hardware and a full set of sails. you need to gain experience on the race course,keep a consistant crew and you will see your finnishes start to get better.By the way ,we race our H40 with the roller furling handicap of 108. The h 376 rates between 108 and 120(base)1n various areas of the country.That rating will be adjusted with the way your boat is equipped(size of largest genoa,propeller type,roller furling etc).
 
Jul 1, 1998
3,062
Hunter Legend 35 Poulsbo/Semiahmoo WA
Before Getting PHRF Handicap

Before getting a PHRF handicap for the boat it would be a good learn what it means and do some homework. Once a boat is assigned a handicap number you will most likely have to go though protest proceedings to get it changed which is a daunting task for a new racer. US Sailing: http://www.ussailing.org/phrf/ In my opinion, a boat which is set up for cruising (lots of batteries, inverter, refrigeration, and other extras) isn't going to be able to be rated well because they don't recognize all this extra weight. Even the paint and bottom finish is important and our area doesn't recognize this in their allowances probably because this can't be controlled very well. A few years ago there were a couple boats hauled out at the yard I had my boat in and they were "sanding" the bottom paint with 600 grit to smooth it up prior to a major race. Pardon me - their bottom was as smooth as my topside gelcoat! Add a few thousand dollars of fairing and there's no way you're going to compete in their class with Pettit Trinidad. They're picking up somewhere between 0.5 and 1.0 knots just with the bottom finish. PHRF was supposed to help cruiser-type boaters compete on a level playing field and was not intended for boaters with no purpose in life but racing with big budgets. Those guys should go one-design and leave the PHRF group alone - my personal opinion. Only then will sailboat racing really take off again. After crewing on others boats I raced briefly with my boat and decided it was useless unless I wanted to change my sailing life, that is, give up local day sailing and vacation cruising. My decision was that cruising with my family was more important.
 
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P Kelly

376phrf

John; Get ready for frustration. Our '96-376 also is raced as a stock boat, with no special sails and we had it rated by the Yacht Racing Assov of LIS, the PHRF authority for LIS. Our Base # is 111 adjusted to 129. As always the problem with formulas is they applied to numbers not performance. We are happy with the way the boat sails but have never been "competitive" with our rating. Many other boats with much higher rating(meaning slower) leave us in the dust. In a few races where we had the chance to go boat for boat, same heading, same wind etc. we were left behind. Hard to explain since our rating said we were the faster boat. Maybe you can say it was crew or helmsperson(me) but not so since in those races we had a very qulified "tactician" and nothing he could do changed anything. Have argued with members I know on the PHRF board all to no avail. Curios what you find out, since it seems to be a local decision. Phil Kelly Orion/376
 
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Mark W

PHRF fairness

Often early PHRF ratings do not accurately reflect the speed of the boat, it is an estimate of design and potential speed. This often is not realistic and can be challenged or protested if there is sufficient data to justify the results. That was my problem for years in the GYA, you had to have race results of that specific boat for 200 miles. If there were several boats of that type then no problem, but if you are the only boat that could take an eternity. Another problem, If there is an outstanding skipper who made major improvements to his boat and no one else had major money, than the rating reflected an unreal unobtainable goal for the average racer. When I started racing my Hunter 25 in the late 70's and early 80's, our sailmaker expert set the standard, which took me almost 10 years to equal plus major modifications and sails which was costly. I stopped racing my H 25 in 1998 mainly due to futility with faster boats even a decent rating due to age. the problem is that the rating system works on static speed, not accelleration. Every time you tack even if perfect requires accellerating to get back to hull speed. A balsa or arex core light weight racer will reach hull speed in seconds, while you will take minutes. With new technology in sails and boat construction, to stay competitive find a boat rated 100 or less. Good Luck, Mark W.
 
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Mike

Re: 380 PHRF Rick Dalton

Rick: Read your note on your Hunter. For what it is worth, we own a H340 and can appreciate your frustration. We originally tried to race the stock boat and lost by 30 minutes on a two hour race. We made a couple of changes that have significantly helped. Definitely change the fixed prop to a feathering or folding prop which will gain you much more than the 3 PHRF credit. Also, make sure to add VC-17 in the spring to the bottom of the boat and keep it cleaned every two weeks minimum throughout the season. Finally, upgrade the sails. We added kevlar which may be overkill but the boat is much more competitive. Our dacron sail shape was more like a bulge than an airfoil - which was like night and day the first time we put up our new sails. I don't believe we will ever win consistently with this boat, but now we finish in the top half of our competitive weekend section races. However, we got first in every wednesday beer can race this past season. Good Luck.
 
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