So, just how important is a Boats PY yardstick?

But everyone complains how bad and inefficient the Laser sail is, so size isn't all we should look at. Maybe hard sails on slow boats are just window dressing? After all, the Aero is short and is quicker with a soft sail.

PY racing can never be much more than a bit of fun.

The Europe and Radial have pretty much the same PY. When the radials have enough power to get up to speed their extra half a metre of length makes it hard to hold them, but the minute they are over powered the Europe pulls away with ease.

Over the season it averages out I'm sure, but is any given race a fair reflection of how the helms sailed relative to each other? Probably not.

Really enjoyed racing them at the weekend though.

Edited by GarethT - 23 Oct 19 at 7:26pm

After a while, we eventually get to know, what's what, some boats work inland, some work better on the sea. One thing the increased handicap advantage the Laser now has on the sea has put it back in the game on inland water, testament to the excellent design from all those years back that it still remains the tool it is these many years later.

But none of this is relevant to what I'm trying to suggest.

Waterline length is more important than sail type or size imv What makes the Laser is the 420 bit, not the 7.whatever the sail is. The sail bit is effectively varied by the wind strenght anyway. That in turn is varied by the ratio of the body weight and the beam in righting moment againts the sail size. Waterline length however makes the difference upwind and it also makes the difference in planing in waves of a certain length, predominant in the English Channel.

So that formula, that combines the various relationships between waterline length, crew weight, sail size and righting moment will always be the same, so should be the initial recipe for any decision regarding performance. What then happens due to helm input can and perhaps should be quantified by data, but for the sake of logic and understanding should be secondary to the actual physical facts.

So the 'handicap' should always be a two part calculation, the boats potential, over the data provided by it's regional and conditional useage. Rather than what we have at the moment, data driven by inland water over coastal and using the lame suggestion that clubs should bear the burden of varying the system to suit their water.

Edited by iGRF - 23 Oct 19 at 9:00pm

Originally posted by iGRF Originally posted by H2 but it does come back to the point that Kaz made which is that if the lad has decided he does not want (for whatever reason) to sail one of the larger more established classes because the Farr is a better boat for him, his size, experience, where he sails, colour of the hull....whatever, then he has to accept that when you pick a smaller class it is probably going to have a sub-standard PY for a while so you better make sure you love the boat and love sailing it! Which in any other world would be classed as discriminatory, or anti competitive even. In fact I'm sure back in a fit of angry picque I did go as far as to get legal advice on, which was that I had a fair point, but not being a player manufacturer with an axe to grind or product to promote, why was I even considering the expense. It remains however an area of very bad exposure for the powers that be.

Nobody cares, or should be even bothered what 'top sailors' think, this is about trying to stem the flow,, stop the rot, bring more folk into the sport than are leaving it. If all there is, is handicap racing, then it has to be improved, made less irritating, irrational, illogical. Top sailors don't drive club racing, club racing is where folk at the beginning or the end of their careers end up and the game should be that the end guys should encourage the new young guys, not make it stupidly impossible just because they;ve become bad losers.

So Henry in his new Farr 3.7 should be encouraged, not discouraged, the old Fart hasbeen in his 3.7 can make whatever decision he wants, it's not about him either.

What it's about, is keeping the sport interesting and accessible to a generation that want it now and want it to be easy and more understandable.

Because they're snowflakes.