So, just how important is a Boats PY yardstick?

At a typical club level of racing and over a series of races held in a variety of conditions it has been my experience that the best sailors will win the series regardless of which boat they sail and on what handicap. Over the three years that I have sailed my H2 the handicap has changed quite a bit but over a series at a club level I am able to achieve the results that I think reflect my relative skill.

I'm not too bothered by it. The OK handicap isn't great but it's taken me three years to learn to sail it to somewhere around PY level at club level, and looking at how I do at National events it's clear I'm not anywhere near it's potential so I'm cool with that. Additionally there are so many other factors to consider. A big fast boat in a lot of smaller boats will have advantage in getting into clear air first and sailing through it faster - but a smaller, tighter course may disadvantage it compared to smaller nimbler boats. Like wise being a small, slow boat in among bigger fast boats is always a challenge until they get away from you. Some boats like reaches, other boats like beats and runs. Some boats hop in the plane early while other don't  etc etc

Edited by KazRob - 23 Oct 19 at 11:13am

Agree with Kaz - especially the bit about people moving classes!

True - but for this reason I rarely sail in the evenings which are better spent at the bar!

Lots of good posts full of the right advice, it is a system that works albeit a bit crap and full of the issues we all know, so it can be accepted that a Boats 'yardstick' is obviously important or we couldn't function in the way lots of clubs do.

Lots of my 'issues' are already on record ad infinitum and in this instance, it wasn't a selfish post even though I do sail the boat in question, I bought it to learn to single hand trapeze and not have a great hulk to haul everywhere without the necessity for a crane or team of boat launchers, which is my alternative and discussed elsewhere.

My issue I guess is that I don't want some poor young kid put off the thing because there is no accepted method of him getting an accurate rating for the boat. There have been guesses, there aint enough of them to get the numbers and the point I've made all along, there should at least be a device that classes/builders/developers can plug into that at least spits out, not a PY because a PY has to be what it is a moving feast though God only knows why, but that's another discussion maybe. A what should we call it? Say PQ, Performance Quotient, given the length, breadth, sail area, crew weight, sailing devices (trap, swing out seat, kite, foils) a number that gives a new rider/sailor/helm an expectation of the actual crafts performance in capable hands. That way, at least folk like me and our young friend, who are trying to get to grips with a boat just because they like the boat, can see that the PQ is at the very least achievable, what happens to it after that in the yardstick system when lake laser muppets start using it and it gets slower and slower or the bandit pot hunters wield it as their chosen weapon for a couple of years so it has to get quicker, wouldn't matter.

Such a system isn't beyond the wit of man, nor would it require adoption by the RYA a clever crew, even from here like Peaky and Dan Holman with a bit of support from say JimC could put some sort of calculations in place to produce an algorithm that could be operated online using the Laser as the ground zero at 1000 as an obvious base setting that boats can be deemed faster or slower than. It would make to the casual entrant more sense and aspiring folk can make informed choices about the sort of craft they want. It may not make our little Farr much more attractive since it sits pretty much astride the Laser, a bit faster in strong wind and slower in light, but it would at least be accurate with some basis in hard fact that can't be denied.

How could we make it happen? Easy, we form the DPA, the Dinghy Performance Association or some similar class acronym and issue the number from that body.

(posted at the same time as dougal but acknowledge his points well made)

Edited by iGRF - 23 Oct 19 at 1:56pm