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PHRF Handicaps and Adjustments


 



Glossary

Rating - the seconds per mile handicap a boat is assigned based on her observed performance.

Profile - the wind and sea conditions for which the boat is rated. Clear Lake is characterized by small waves and patchy breezes. (Contrast with the San Fransisco profile of big wind and waves.)

Adjustment – a modification applied to a boat’s rating for a deviation from the design’s standard configuration, rigging, sailplan, or hardware.

Initial Rating – the first rating a boat receives from CLRA.

Appeal – a process through which a boat’s rating is altered.

Time-on-Distance – a handicapping system which uses the distance of the course to compute corrected times from actual (elapsed) times using a seconds per mile rating assigned to each boat.

Time on Time – a handicapping system which uses the elapsed time and the seconds per mile rating of each boat to compute corrected times for all boats.


Requirements for Participation

A boat is not required to possess a current PHRF certificate in order to participate. However, a valid certificate from any recognized PHRF body is considered valuable input for receiving a rating from this organization. Standard keelboats are the norm for the PHRF Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker classes. High performance, planing designs are not standard. Race management reserves the right to accept or deny entry into a PHRF Handicap class. Time-on-Time handicapping is used in all PHRF Classes.


The Time-on-Time Formula

The Time-on-Time formula used is as follows:

Corrected Time = Actual Time * TCF (Time Correction Factor)

Where: TCF = (600 / 480 + PHRF Rating)

The algorithm used to compute the TCF varies with the scoring organization. However, all are similar in that slower boats have a smaller TCF than faster boats. In practice, when computing a corrected time, slower boats have their elapsed times decreased, while faster boats have their elapsed times increased.

The constant 600 in the numerator has the least effect on the outcome of corrected times. The purpose of this constant is to come up with TCFs that give corrected times that, on average, will approximate the expected times of the race. It should be picked so that a boat in the middle of a class or fleet will have a TCF of 1.

The constant 480 in the denominator is chosen so that when added to the PHRF handicap, equals the time in seconds it takes for a boat in the middle of a fleet to sail one nautical mile. 550 chosen as a constant is significant because the number 550, when subtracted from the IMS General Purpose speed estimate, produces a good approximation of the PHRF handicap. Therefore, if the races are sailed in about 10 knots with about a third of the distance sailed to windward, 550 might be a good selection.

In general, choosing a lower number for this constant favors slower boats and choosing a higher number favors faster boats. Since the Wednesday Night Races are notorious for being sailed in a dying breeze, 480 has been used as the constant for many years, and doing so introduces a slight favor for slower boats.


Initial Rating

Spinnaker ratings only are used. A boat’s initial rating shall be assigned using the following considerations:

  1. valid PHRF certificate(s)

  2. ratings for identical boats in similar profiles found in the current issue of US Sailing’s PHRF Handicaps.

  3. standard and non standard equipment and/or modifications

  4. ratings for similar boats in dissimilar profiles.



Rating Appeals

A boat owner currently entered in the Clear Lake Wednesday Night Sailboat Races may appeal the rating assigned to his boat using the following procedure:

  1. The boat must possess a valid certificate either from PHRF Galveston Bay or CLRA before a rating appeal shall be accepted.

  2. Appeal to CLRA:

    • Written notification to race management of intent to appeal. This correspondence should identify the owner making the appeal, as well as the boat whose rating is being appealed. In addition, the reason(s) for the appeal should be outlined and, if the appeal is accepted, this reasoning should parallel the presentation given to the rating committee on the day of the hearing.
    • Race Management shall respond within 30 days of acceptance or denial of appeal.
    • If appeal is accepted, a rating committee consisting of at least three qualified, uninterested individuals (not including but assigned by race management ) shall be assigned to hear the appeal. (Example of a panel would be sailmakers and competitors from one design classes)
    • A meeting will be held in which all interested parties shall present their case for, or against, the rating change. The boat owner, or his representative, making the appeal is required to attend to present the case for the appeal. If not, the appeal shall not be heard.
    • The rating committee shall issue a ruling on the appeal.
    • Any rating change will take effect at the beginning of the next series, not in the middle of an ongoing series.

Appeal to the national authority:

Should the appealant not be satisfied with the outcome of the appeal to CLRA:
  • If the boat whose rating is in question does not already have a rating certificate issued by CLRA, a request for a certificate shall be made to CLRA.
  • The request shall be accompanied with a processing fee of twenty five dollars.
  • CLRA shall provide a rating certificate within thirty days.
  • An appeal may be made to the national PHRF governing body.
  • The rating issued by the national PHRF governing body shall be final.


An owner may appeal the rating assigned to another’s boat using the following procedure:

  • Appeal to CLRA:
    1. Written notification to race management of intent to appeal. This correspondence should identify the person making the appeal, as well as the boat and the owner, whose rating is being appealed. In addition, the reason(s) for the appeal should be outlined and, if the appeal is accepted, this reasoning should parallel the presentation given to the rating committee on the day of the hearing.
    2. Race Management shall respond within 30 days of acceptance or denial of appeal.
    3. If appeal is accepted, a rating committee consisting of at least three qualified, uninterested individuals ( not including but assigned by race management ) shall be assigned to hear the appeal. (Example of a panel would be sail makers and competitors from one design classes)
    4. A meeting will be held in which all interested parties shall present their case for, or against, the rating change. The presence of the person making the appeal, or his representative, is required, or the appeal shall not be heard.
    5. The rating committee shall issue a ruling on the appeal.


  • Appeal to the national authority:

  • Should the appellant not be satisfied:
    1. If the boat whose rating is in question does not already have a rating certificate issued by CLRA, a request for a certificate shall be made to CLRA.
    2. This request shall be accompanied with a processing fee of twenty five dollars.
    3. CLRA shall provide a rating certificate within thirty days.
    4. An appeal may be made to the national PHRF governing body.
    5. The rating issued by the national PHRF governing body shall be final.


CLRA Management may appeal the rating assigned to a boat using the following procedure:

  • Notification to Interested Parties
    1. Written notification shall inform the boat owner of race management’s intent to appeal. In addition, written notice shall be posted on the official bulletin board for all other interested parties. This correspondence shall identify the boat and the owner, whose rating is being appealed, and the reason(s) for the appeal. This reasoning shall parallel the presentation given to the rating committee on the day of the hearing.
    2. A rating committee consisting of at least three qualified, uninterested individuals ( not including but assigned by race management ) shall be assigned to hear the appeal. (Example of a panel would be sail makers and competitors from one design classes)
    3. A meeting will be held in which all interested parties shall present their case for, or against, the rating change.
    4. The panel shall issue a ruling on the appeal.
  • Appeal to the national authority using a similar process as listed above.


Adjustments

The following are adjustments for non standard equipment that the Clear Lake Racing Association shall apply to a boat’s base rating. A boat’s base rating is her initial or existing rating before the non standard equipment is considered.

The base boat is assumed to be in as-built configuration with:
  • a 155% genoa
  • a spinnaker pole length equal to J (*actual or corrected)
  • a spinnaker width equal to 1.8 times J
  • a spinnaker luff equal to 1.0 times I (*actual or corrected)
  • a folding or feathering propeller on an exposed shaft, a two bladed solid propeller in an aperture, or an outboard motor.
  • IMS sail definitions apply, particularly with respect to mainsail girths. If not the following adjustments apply:
CENTERBOARDS/SWING KEELS

If a boat’s class rules designate that the appendage shall remain down while racing, the appendage shall remain down and unadjusted. Otherwise, if the appendage comprises 10% or more of the boat’s overall weight, the appendage shall remain down and unadjusted while racing. If the appendage’s weight percentage is unknown, it shall remain down and unadjusted. (This includes extracting a boat from a grounding situation.)

HULL/BALLAST CHANGES

On a case by case basis. It shall be assumed that any modification was made to improve performance.

INTERIOR MODIFICATIONS

If tables, cushions, doors, stoves removed (Depends on what, and how much, is removed)

OVERSIZED MAINSAIL GIRTHS

Any excess of Mid Girth Upper (MGU) and Mid Girth Middle (MGM) (Depends on excess)

OTHER MODIFICATIONS

Any other modifications made to a boat shall be considered on per event basis.

AUXILIARY POWER
Two bladed solid propeller on an exposed shaft +6 sec/mile
Three bladed solid propeller on an exposed shaft +9 sec/mile
Three bladed solid propeller in an aperture +3 sec/mile
Two bladed feathering propeller in an aperture -3 sec/mile
Three bladed feathering propeller in an aperture 0 sec/mile
Outboard fixed in well with two bladed solid propeller +6 sec/mile
Inboard with exposed shaft in place of outboard +3 to +9
   
LP ADJUSTMENT
155.1 - 163% (2% tolerance is allowed making the base 152%) -3 sec/mile
163 - 170% -6 sec/mile
Over 170% -9 sec/mile
Largest Lp 139% or less +3 sec/mile
   
SPINNAKER ADJUSTMENT
Pole length and/or spinnaker width excess (2 % tolerance) -3 per 10% increase
Spinnaker halyard height (ISP) greater than I -3 per 8% increase
Spinnaker halyard height (ISP) greater than I -3 per 8% increase
   
RIG HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT (Both I and P increased)
0.5% to 3% -3
3.01% to 5% -6
5.01% to 7% -9
7.01% to 9% -12
9.01% to 11% -15
11.01% to 13% -18
13.01% to 15% -21
   
BOOM LENGTH ADJUSTMENT
0.5% to 10% -3
10.01% to 20% -6






















































 
 
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