2 big reasons I like Portsmouth:

1. Cost- We can compete in an $800 dollar boat that had a broken mast against any other cat that will race. Yeah, if they have a spinnaker we probably will not do well, but with TheMightyHobie18's and others close in rating I feel we are competitive.

2. Modifications are allowed!!

I know for many this is not even a consideration. But for those of us that love the challenge of trying to improve the original design of our boats it is fantastic. And it ties into my first point since we plan to add some type of reacher or spinnaker and see if we can stay closer to the newer spin boats. Possibly try a squaretop main as well. Try these types of upgrades in a PHRF class and you tend to face a lot of resistance. I know from personal experience. Keelboaters do not want anything to do with a homebuilt or modified boat. You are supposed to go out and spend the big bucks like they did on some design that is usually no where near optimized for racing. Heaven forbid you have some personal knowledge and ability in putting together a fast boat on the cheap. (Gee, don't sound bitter, do I?).

Lastly, I am thankful we could show up at local cat regattas in an old boat and be welcomed to race against the new hot classes and be told we need to throw a spinnaker on to be faster!

Yeah, H16 is the economical way to go OD, and we did that when I was a teen (Fleet 141). But now that our crew weight is pushing past 360lbs, I much prefer the bigger cat.

Jim.