Originally Posted by pgp
laugh 235, give or take..

Of course, we really can't draw any conclusions unless we hear from the top ten.



This horse is dead already.

No conclusions are going to come from this no matter how much “data” is dug up. If there are 20 minute races, no amount of weight difference is going to make up for a bad start or a missed tack, so whatever result you want to slant to fit your weight politics will continue ad nausea.

Olli summed it up very well. Weight is critical- how you use it is more so and with a fat hull multi with a spin it not just “less is better” but is condition dependant. The lighter the boat with more power/weight the more obvious the difference. Light teams will have an advantage in lighter winds and flat seas, while heavy teams become advantaged as the conditions more to bigger seas and winds. (There are some trim issues with comparing uni to sloop rigged F16 – but the real problem as the wind increases is uni guys not having the weight to make the boat perform)

Earlier in this thread the Olympic issue was raised. With the Olympics they are planning and training for 1 event in 1 location. The crew weight lottery is part of that extreme commitment to gain any advantage at all cost. For everyone else who race all the time, we see a variety of conditions and in the end it all averages out.