New FOILING A-Class P/N number?

Now that I'm back to sailing my A, it has been real eye-opening to see the foilers go past so fast that it has brought to me this topic. The current number (floating) is 64.5. How fast should the foiler be rated; 62.0? It has to be addressed for any p/n racing. I would like to entertain your thoughts before I send up a proposal to US Sailing.

See y'all on the water,
Bob

Bob, good on you for running that up the flag pole, but sadly I think your drilling a dry hole. Enjoy your gift I doubt it will get sorted while you and I are still sailing USSailing hasn't shown itself to be a forward thinking organization. Meaning get a foiler or be a bitch with the rest of us.

I just read your signature Bob, holy sh!t now! How long have you been in the basement?

Ding,

I have been gone for over 2.5 years! Time flies. The "basement" has a very bright light in there and really opened my eyes to a lot of good and great things. I learned a new-to-me fantastic skillset too! It's good to be back while I'm still physically able to play.

Bob

Bob
The current PN committee is committed to following the letter of the yardstick documents .... since they are crica 1960 or so.... This means.... that you will need to generate data for a class..
There is nothing wrong with this approach... it has full integrity... it is just useless for handicap multihull racing in 2015.

There won't be any adjustments because of sea changes like foiling.

Since the PN system accepts the Class as the Class chooses to define itself.. ... Foilers and floaters are A class. With a data driven process... it will take some time for the data turned in from flyers to adjust the ratings using the standard allowed changes year to year.

The SCHRS measurement rule is the best option for handicap racing with the onset of fleets of foilers.... (or at least as good as one is going to get)

Thanks for the explanation. The SCHRS measurement rule appears the best option for handicap racing now and into the future.

Bob

You guys read like a couple of bad actors reading an advertisement script. hah.

One thing you might want to take note of, the US A-class association is allowing boats that don't fall within the limits of rule 8 to race with them. Meaning, boats with more horizontal foiling surface area than the a-class rules allow (which will allow easier foiling and easier retrofitting of older boats). Keep in mind that I'm not making any comment about whether or not this makes overall sense but with that in mind, how should any handicap rule handle THAT? It's not even technically a class. Good luck suckers.

Lots of good points here.

Before throwing US Sailing under the bus for this issue, please remember these two points (echoing from above):

1. Foiling has been accepted by the class to fall within its one-design rules.

2. PN is results-based, not measurement-based.

While provisional numbers may be issued (using ratings from measurement-based systems), they need to be revised using race data, which is less and less available with every passing year.

But, that is a moot point in this case, unless/until the A Class changes its position on foilers.

To reiterate that last point, that is precisely the response I got to my concerns about the potential for the Alter Cup in Bristol becoming a farce due to a partial fleet of foilers. While I disagreed that was the best plan, I do understand their position about not wanting to get involved with class politics.

Having said that, we got lucky and foiling didn't enter the equation as the event was actually sailed. As these boats get better, and the sailors become more skilled, foiling time will increase, the delta between the foilers and floaters will increase, and this is a real risk to the integrity of the class (and major events using them).

But, at the end of the day, it needs to first be managed by the class, then we can have a discussion about numbers (and systems).

Mike

so the "A Class" is now both foiling and floating models.

And if DPN is results based, will the DPN number for the class get faster as more foilers compete in regattas?

So, at some point (probably in the foreseeable future) the DPN for "A Class" will be such that a floating A boat will never be able to sail close to the number?

added to which - is trying to put a handicap rating between a foiler and non-foiler even practical? It's kinda like handicapping a spin boat vs. a non-spin boat on steroids. You can put numbers on it but the capabilities are so wildly different in various conditions (and configurations) that any number is going to have very inconsistent results. Personally, I would give up on the idea that you'll ever have a reliable handicap number to compete foiler vs. non foiler.

IF anyone were actually sending such data to the PN committee (they are at best reactive, never proactive), then yes, your assumption is correct.

Of course, it would take a lot of fast foilers and years of events to make a statistical change large enough to have that effect. Until then, a good foiler should be a number killer.

Mike

This is an outstanding point, one which has been discussed here often.

Mike

Jake

Your position ignores the real world!

Pick any event.... A foiling a cat shows up and wants to race handicap... If you push him into a class of one.... he won't be back (or stay).... ditto a phantom or carbon 20...

so, Choose... between a large racing fleet of cats on the line... or three tiny fleets of cats in three races.

Personally..... the old saying... WEll... There are Horses for courses.... and today.... It was the Foiler Course!

These days... racers choose one design.... there is not much oxygen for a handicap race of spin boats or sloops or flyers. ... Therefore... you are better off with one big race.... and some wise ol fart at the bar telling war stories about when the Shark was the greatest catamaran on the water. (illustrating the point that in multihulls... things change!!)

and the key point....have the OA Serve good beer!

In practical terms... just have the OA publish how the fleets will be split up..... None of the...well... lets see who shows up and then decide....

Mark, you have a good point, but the reality is that running spins and non-spins together never really works, either.

Mike

The guys putting full foiling fidgets on their boats don't care one iota about handicap. It's you guys that are getting left behind that are trying to make sense out of the situation and if I were in the same boat (haha, see what I did there?), I would be trying to find similar displacement boats that I could continue to race among and be happy - or move onto something else. Seriously, find a guy that's hacking away at his $15,000 boat to install full foiling gear and see if you can distract him long enough so he can tell us how important that handicap number is in his game plan.

The foiler knows he is going to have an unfair advantage in most conditions and none of them are clambering for a handicap number to level the playing field. It's about the technological challenge and speed for most of these guys.

PS - before anyone gets rubbed the wrong way with my reply, I really meant all of this with a nod and a wink as if we were having a conversation while throwing back beers.

Foilers are like Honey Badgers. . . .they don't give a sh!t.

I'm with you on that Jake. Although my DPN is just about that of a H-16 with spin. But I'm 8' longer and 10' wider.

Just wait until I barge the line

Um... in my opinon this logic does not apply to the F20c and a more incorrect number you cannot find and that was ALL USSailing. What else you got?

100% agree, thinking floaters and foilers can be scored fairly together is a freaking fantasy.

That's what I have been thinking too.....time for one more year of bitching then sell the boat. I'm to old to foil.

Bob

Ding, don't know what part you disagree with, but I'll assume it's just the number, not a class rules issue.

My understanding is that they came up with a provisional number, and have not received data to correct it.

Is there more to the story?

Mike

while I love the idea of a development class, it's just this kind of thing that keeps me from joining: almost instant obsolescence.

But props to you folks who really help come up with the next great leap in sailing technology... Maybe I'll see some of it on my boat in 10-15 years but that's a lot of nautical miles I'll be sailing by then.

Sorry, I momentarily forgot about this gem:

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=278961&page=1

Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgds17ZpBmA
Ben Hall Foiling video. Found by chance.

In regards to the OP; they should knock a couple points off the rating and make foilers suffer in non foiling conditions - guessing. Presumably Texel or other rating systems have already dealt with the down wind foiling speed issue.

erp.... "the down wind foiling speed feature" Um... yeah.. well ah.... here is the thing.... most of the foilers are designed to fly up wind and downwind..... Rating them for a buoys race is not so bad.... The A cat only foils one way right now... The powers that be are refereeing a rule change (s) that might result in foiling both ways...

Right now.... the two way foiling is outside of the rule box and requires a lot of board lifting and lowering... which sucks on a single hander and is impossible to even do if you load the foil up....
So... the game is changing.... YMMV.

Nice scientific formula. Love your rating system.