Sailboat Handicapping Systems

When all the boats in a race are essentially alike, there’s no need for handicapping. Boats are scored in the order they complete the course and cross the finish line. Handicapping allows boats of different types to race against each other, by giving slower boats time allowances; the elapsed time to sail the course is adjusted for the boat’s theoretical or potential speed to produce a “corrected time”, then the race is scored based on a comparison of corrected times.

Handicapping works by one of these methods:

Time-on-Distance:

Abbreviated T-o-D. The rating is applied to the course distance to determine the time allowance and corrected time.

Time-on-time:

Abbreviated T-o-T. The rating is a factor applied to the elapsed time to determine the corrected time.

Combination of T-o-D & T-o-T:

Some handicapping systems factor both course distance and elapsed time into the corrected time calculation. The combination systems are not commonly used in the region.

In the SAIL region, most organizing authorities use time-on-time handicapping, because this approach does not require known course distances and wind speeds tend to vary.

There are two handicapping systems in general use in SAIL:

PHRF – Most monohull self-righting boats (keelboats) race under the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet, or PHRF system.⁽¹⁾ A PHRF rating is a judgment as to the boat’s potential speed by a local committee ⁽²⁾ assuming the boat is in top race condition and is well-sailed.

A boat is given a rating number (slower boats have higher numbers) and that number determines the time allowance. The ratings are, ideally, certified by SAIL’s PHRF committee. In some cases, ratings are assigned by local race committees; these do not carry SAIL certification, are not transportable to other venues, and are not appealable or redressable.

US Sailing supports and maintains a National PHRF Committee which publishes the handicaps assigned by its member organizations.

Portsmouth Yardstick – Portsmouth ratings are calculated annually and published by the Portsmouth Committee of US SAILING, based on statistical analysis of actual submitted race results. Again, the higher the number, the slower the boat. The Portsmouth Yardstick contains factors for various wind speeds, plus a base D-PN. Although Portsmouth ratings are published for most types of boats, this system is most commonly used for dinghy and multi-hull fleets.

Other handicapping systems also exist elsewhere, including MHS, Americap, & MORC, but they’re not in common use in the region. Measurement costs tend to discourage Rocky Mountain skippers and scoring complexities dissuade race committees.

Handicapping Formulas:

SAIL PHRF T-o-T: CT = ET x TCF, TCF = (715 – HC) / 515

Portsmouth: CT = ET x 100 / HC

Where:

CT =   Corrected Time

ET =   Elapsed Time

TCF = Time Correction Factor

HC =    Handicap Rating number

Notes:
(1) A separate system, like PHRF, exists for multihulls; it's known as "Multihull Rating System" or MHRF. The ratings are not transferable from one to another. There is no MHRF system in the SAIL region.
(2) All PHRF ratings are local. They are not transferable outside the area for which they were assigned.

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Revised: 3/7/08