The short version of the story is that I did finish the NMBR system back then (2004 and jan 2005) and it still works as intended and texel did modify its system to include some components.

It isn't a big job to revive it.

However, I'm done with "pulling the car projects" so we are going to revive this system with a group of people or not at all.

With respect to some of the drawbacks named by Jake and others. It is not hard to compensate for these. I think I proposed a 5 point compensation scheme to give out dated designs some additional leeway. In the same way that Texel adjusts the ratings for boats with daggerboards and without. Simply by adding a fixed amount of handicap points to the base rating when a boat is fitted without.

I always said that it is not the task of a handicap system to be 100% accurate but just accurate enough to be considered fair. Relatively simple measurement based systems can indeed do that. But I won't go into details of why that is.

To give a point in case.

One can very closely approximate Texel (version 2004) by the following linear formula :

Texel rating = 148.922 - 2.750 * rated sail area - 6.141 * rated length + 0.132 * rated weight - 4 (if spinnaker.)

The variables "rated sail area", "rated length" and "rated weight" are not complicated to calculate. For example the "rated weight" = ready to sail boat weight + 150 (crewweight).

I'm convinced a similar lineari approximation can be had with respect to the current Texel rating version. With slighly adjusted coefficients and maybe an added measurement.


So Jake's statement that the underlying formula are complicated is not really the case. The real Texel formula is a little more complicated than the one given above but only slightly. Its behavior is not however as is depicted below, it is almost perfectly linear. I have to look it up but I believe the linear approximation is typically accurate to about 0.75%

The main point is that a measurement based system being so simple as above can still be about as good as the USPN is now or better in its predictions. Think how accurate a slightly more complicated measurement based system can be. There is still lots of leeway in the way of complexity and the results are already surprisingly accurate.

Wouter