Instructions on using US Sailings PHRF ratings book for determining Initial Handicaps As it relates to the classes chosen in the “Comparable” tab of the Handicappers worksheet. The US sailing PHRF book lists each by PHRF region, each class and then a list of the rating, the year the class rating was last updated, how many vessels were rated, and the a level of experience the PHRF Region has with that handicap. US Sailing required listing: USE THE FOLLOWING GUIDES TO ASSIGN AN EXPERIENCE LEVEL: A = Initial assignment with little or no actual sailing observations. B = Some performance observations of one or more yachts of the class so that the handicap can be said to have been tested. C = The model has been tested significantly with different skippers and under different conditions so that the handicap can be described as reflecting a high level of confidence. This leads to some questions to how accurate the PHRF ratings are in the book, and how they are used. We have no information on whether they are SP's, ASP's, and how they are reviewed if at all. We do not know the local weather conditions that these ratings are applied in (This must be researched by the handicapper when looking at Regions for Comparable). We also do not know the local fleets abilities that each region applies to their adjustments (This must also be researched by the handicapper when looking at Regions for Comparable). It should be kept in mind though that that PHRF regions (that have only one or two boats) do not necessarily have a correct rating. PHRF Regions vary greatly on how they establish (some by a simple average of the US Sailing book **) and how they review their ratings, therefore, it cannot be taken as a given and should be used only as one tool towards creating the initial handicap. We know for a fact that US Sailing numbers from regions have rated some boats based on a small jib. US Sailing states the following is what should be listed in the book. 1. The spinnaker pole length is equal to J 2. The spinnaker maximum width is 180% of J 3. The spinnaker maximum length is equal to .95 of the jibstay length (formula) 4. The genoa LP is between 150% and 155% of J 5. The boat is in racing condition 6. The boat has either a folding or feathering prop etc. 7. The hull and appendages are unmodified and 8. Full length battens are usually allowed without penalty We know not all regions follow these guidelines, in fact it can be brought into doubt if any in fact do. Example: Esse 850. Chesapeake Bay - in US Sailing book = SP = 81, in their Valid list with ASP = 75 with 105% headsail, not sure what the penalty of 6 is? PHRF-LO - rated at 78 (we gave back the 6 sec protect the fleet in 2014 after one year) with a +9 for the headsail, +5 for the Spinnaker, -9 for the mainsail, centerline +6, Square top +3 = ASP = 92 The ratings in the US Sailing PHRF Handbook are not an end-all be-all of a given rating and should not be taken as such. They should be used as only one tool for determining a handicap and not the final value that PHRF-LO should attempt to emulate exactly. Now to using and/or selecting classes from the comparable tab of the handicappers Worksheet for use on the “National” tab. When selecting classes “from the Comparable tab”, the handicapper should find a similar class of boat that has a strong rating HISTORY “LIKE A BENCHMARK BOAT” on Lake Ontario and one that is well-defined and is rated in other PHRF regions that also have a rating for the class being rated/reviewed. That similar class boat (to the one being rated/reviewed by your district) should have similar hull shape, displacement, sail area, size, foil form etc. These vessels should then be compared and the ratings pulled from the same PHRF regions as the ratings for the class being rated/reviewed. It is good to list all the available PHRF Regions with ratings for the same type of class, to give you a comparison, but that should not be the end of the comparison. You must keep in mind that rating adjustments may have to be made to compensate for PHRF Regions that may not include, PHRF-LO adjustments for sails etc. This will then give an idea of the delta (differences) in ratings numbers for each of those PHRF Regions, in comparison to the Lake Ontario class being rated/reviewed . This being the general differences in numbers from the organizations to PHRF - LO . This works best, especially if done for more than two comparable classes. The ratings from the US sailing PHRF book, then in comparison with how they differ across the known similar classes to the lake Ontario boat being rated/reviewed will give us a better estimate of a rating. In summary, in order to obtain a best rating for an owner of a boat that’s class is new to Lake Ontario, it is more than running numbers within the spreadsheets. The source of all information even though provided by PHRF-LO in the Handicappers’’ Worksheet from the US Sailing PHRF Handbook, MUST be researched further by the handicapper representing the boat. This is where the more accurate information provided by the owner saves the Handicapper time and make them more aware of the amount of work that goes into rating a boat new to Lake Ontario. .