Do racing sailboats have handicaps?
To have a fair race system that includes different classes, sizes of sailboats, and crew abilities, all racing at the same requires a handicap system. The method or handicap schemes used can vary for each sailing club. The Royal Yachting Association uses the Portsmouth Yardstick Number Scheme (PY/PN numbers). The Performance Handicraft Racing Fleet Lake Ontario uses PHRF ratings. Other schemes use sail area, draft, displacement, sail aspect ratio and hull length to calculate a seconds-per-mile number. Time-on-time is another scheme that requires the fastest boat would to give time to the slower ones.
