Race Ratings and Outboards

[Charles94]

Base Ratings for racing require boats be equiped will all standard equipment ie strpping the interior is not allowed (unless the rating is adjusted).

Are outboard engines required under the base ratings for boats with standard (optional?) outboards? Most boats in my club inboards or outboards however a few race with no engine.

C Long

 

[inarathree]

My understanding of how ratings work, is that a boat that would use an outboard (for example, my H22 or a Catalina 22), the base rating is based on no outboard. But your rating then gets adjusted based on if you have an o/b. But if you claim an o/b for your rating, you cannot then race with out it, without either a new rating, or some adjustments.

 

[Alan]

You do understand however that an OB will be raised out of the water while racing which removes all drag. For the greatest efficiency the OB should be removed from the transom and stowed at the keel/bilge area. For this reason boats with inboard engines are usually give an addition 3 to 6 second handicap advantage.
BTW 'racing trim' assumes all tanks will be empty and all gear not needed for CG approved operation will be left ashore.

 

[kbnj1]

In PHRF Chesapeake, and probably all PHRF districts, OB engines are required to be on-board, but not necessarily on their mounts. They are also required to be capable of properly moving the boat (forget the specific requirements, but the point is you can't put a grossly undersized light-weight motor on the boat to cheat the system). I've heard of taking them off their mounts and strapping them low in the center of the cabin nearest the boat Center of Gravity, but I'm not sure I'm convinced that's really worth the effort and possible mess. A 2-stroke 9.9 HP typically weighs less than 70 lbs (more for 4-stroke). Getting any weight close to the CG will allow the boat to pitch up and over waves easier, rather than plowing through them, but it also allows the mast to move more which can mess up the airflow over the sails. It would be nice be able to move the weight forward in light air and back in heavy, but that's what the crew's for! Good luck.