Dave, it's not my possition, it's the builders who are making the new F18's faster and faster, otherwise you would all be racing a 1996 Tiger, right?
And I'm not saying, I'm just saying, "Evolution" should be taught in school...
And I have no idea how P number get -adjusted- anyway, does that latest F18 NA's, where the top boats were all Caps. and Infusions count in anyway? Or is only one boat vs. another, different class boat, finish times that get put in the mix?
If Matt invents a new F16 design and it is clearly faster than all the other Blades, when Matt is sailing it, will anyone ask that number to be -adjusted- too? Of couse they would. That's all I'm saying.
The portsmouth number gets adjusted when the regatta organizers send in their handicap racing results from their open classes that were scored on Portsmouth. These relationships to other boats finish positions are considered in a database and the first place finishers contribute to the handicap rating and a small (very) small adjustment would happen from one or two race results. Enter 12 race results and the numbers get more refined. If regatta people don't send any results then the portsmouth group has to guess at where the numbers are.
As it relates to F18, the tiger is the ONLY F18 platform that has it's own rating. This is because the Hobie Tiger class rules have differentiated from F18 rules - mostly in the crew weight area. They race under a different rule set and get a different rating. All other F18's race under the F18 rating. If one of the other F18 boats proves to be faster than the others, it will be a minor improvement in speed (as history has proven) - and the rating system will self adjust fast enough to accommodate this shift for the class' potential.
