for Statue of liberty race. Will be entering singlehanded and I am unsure how the handicap will work.

Multiply your portsmouth rating(s) by L4 rating(s) adjustment.

Its basically a few percent hit for sailing single handedly.

Thanks for the reply, but it is my first race and I have no idea what L4 is.

That's okay -- neither do I.

Handicap racing is scored using the Portsmouth system. These handicaps get modified for various things as in sailing a 2 man boat with only 1 person on it. That is the L4 seen on this page.
Modifications

The default handicap numbers are listed HERE

L4 For total crew weight less than 70% of class min. crew wt. or for singlehanding a sloop not having class min. crew wts.

0.970 0.965 0.970 0.985 0.995

Hobie 16 H16

76.0 81.5 78.7 74.1 71.4

So... you multiply the columns.
.97 times 76.0 = 73.7
Or in english, your single handed rating is 3% faster for your overall average rating (DPN). (Its the first number in the column.)

The other columns are for ratings in different wind ranges designated by the beufort scale.

where 0-1 is no wind... drifter.
B2-3 is about 11 knots and under
B4 is 12 to 18 knots.

When you register.. Sandy Hook has scoring program that computes your rating...

Now... if you and your buddy... take the 16 out and you weigh in at 380 lbs... you get to use a slower rating by using the H correction factors.

all of this is found here
http://www.ussailing.org/portsmouth/pyindex.htm

As much as Mary would like to resist the notion.. weight on a boat matters ... So... the only question is... how do you want to handle the issue.

Correct the elapsed times of the sailors...

Add weight to all boats so that the total weigh of boat and crews are the same.

Ignore the issue.

get a different boat.

get a different sail shape for the boat

get different size sails for the boat

After all.. racing is about the skill of the sailors.. right?

Is the penalty for you or against. I dont know what the class weights for either the 16 or 18 is,but I weigh 200lbs.I guess what I am trying to figure out which boat will be better under the rating. I can sail either one equally as good.

It will be the same on either boat.

Your weight does not matter here... you are sailing a 2 man boat singlhanded. So.. you take the L4 correction.

Its not a penalty... it is a correction for your choosing to sail without a crew. Obviously, the boat is faster with just you on it... (providing you are able to keep the pointy end up). Since the boat is faster.. your rating has to get faster... so the rating number gets smaller.

Think of it this way... If you had a stiff boat with excellent sails and you sailed the perfect race.... you would sail the boat to its rating.... In the race against your buddy who is also singlhanded on the same kind of boat...in the case where you beat him across the line... he did not sail to his rating.... Several reasons could be the reason. he screwed up... he does not sails as well as you or his sails and boat were not up to speed. Now, when you race against a 16 sailing with two people. The handicaps are used to figure out who sailed better. The team sailing closer to their rating will win.

Mark, Thanks for the replys. But my question is not getting answered. How about this... when I sail my 16 with my group I am faster than everybody 16s and18s. When I sail my 18 I am faster than everybody. (everybody singlehanded on the ocean)According to the ratings the 18 is supposed to be faster. Maybe Im good or I need to find other people to sail with. Under whatever rules there are which boat would have a better advantage. From what I am trying to figure out tonight the 16 would.Thats why I really what to enter to see how I do. I just did not realize this was so complicated. Again thanks for your time.-thomas

Class minimum crew weight for both the H16 and TheMightyHobie18 is 285 pounds.

Find the class rules here 2005-2008 IHCA Class Rules

Your being equally as good on either boat, and myself having having raced both, IMO race the 18. You'll be able to depower by furling the jib.

The 16 is only faster singlehanded in a very narrow range of conditions (i.e. up to maybe 8-10 knots). You just need 120-130 kg to get it going in anything over 10 knots. I would go for a 18 with wings, so you can get your weight way out.

bugger I thought I was the faster one than everybody. Heatbreaking to find out it's you.
Easy choice, pick the boat you think will serve you best given the race, water and predicted weather. The ratings are not what matters. Your connection to the boat and your heart are what counts. When you think of the race what boat comes first into your image?

What on earth are you talking about? Everybody knows that weight matters. I just didn't know what "L4" referred to (I thought maybe it was a typo), because I had never noticed that the modifications had little codes associated with them, and I have never seen a code used before in referring to a mod. factor.

I wouldn't reccomend doing the Statue Race single handed on a 16 or 18. At 200 pounds, you likely would not be able to right the boat alone.
The race is in the middle of NY Harbor with the threat of barges, ferries, and etc crossing your path. You don't want to capsize and not be able to right your boat in their path. Not to mention the main stretch of the race is open water, there is a possibility of you being swept out to sea.
I am not deterring you from this race by any means, it's a great race, i've done it the last 5 years without any problems.
I'd highly reccomend to find a lightweight crew or if you are totally new at sailing, try to crew for someone the first time in this race.
SHBCC might not even let you race solo without proving you can right your boat especially after this past year's events.

I have done that race single handed but the boats do get pretty spread out on the way back and the middle of Raritan bay is still pretty far offshore if you have any trouble. IMHO distance races are better suited for double handed boats.
Sounds like your interested in trying your hand at competative sailing in which case OD fleet racing is the acid test. Find a crew and join in.

Thanks for the replies. I was under the impression according to the ratings the 18 was 6min a mile faster. I was thinking to myself from having both there is no way. Anyways I spoke to someone from the race who explained it was 6 minutes an hour faster. That makes alot more sense.What I did not take into account was if I went over. Usually if I go over Im sailing with a group, If one of us goes over someone will just jump off their boat help right right the capsized boat then we will sail back to the other boat. Of course this is in the ocean with plenty of sea room. I dont think I can come up with a solo righting for the 18 ,but I can for the 16.On the other hand I might go over maybe once a year. I could see it getting hairy though with the traffic.I have only been sailing Cats for about three years, but I deliver sailboats offshore and the learning curve has been quick. (Am also gearing up for a singlehanded transatlantic on my monoslug )Have also sailed into NYC a couple of times so am familiar with the waters.Anyways I am getting excited to test out my junkyard beachcat skills with all you pros. -regards thomas wrightsville beach

You know thats a good point and sounds like there is alot to learn about the rules etc. I think I will just go and charge and do my bestand figure out the rules later I equally love both of them , but find I use the 18 a little more unless the surf is hairball then I use the 16.I would like to use the 18 but unless i can come up with a way to right it I think i will use the 16.Sorry about being faster. cheers-thomas <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />