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PHRF?
Great analysis, JeffH. Would like to add the idea that PHRF numbers are a bit like golf handicaps, and can be useful even if you''re not going to race. You know that someone with a low golf handicap is a good golfer. Similarly, a low PHRF number reflects a generally faster boat than a high number. Faster is funner, to the degree that you can handle the boat. Another point the wind conditions where you are may make a certain range of PHRF more desirable than others. On Long Island Sound (often known as the Dead Sea because of the lack of wind) a boat rating 200 PHRF may not have steerage way, while one rating 80 is scooting to windward just fine. Conversely, in breezy San Francisco or Marblehead, the 200-rated boat might be quite comfortable, while the crew on the 80-rater hangs on for their lives and worries about the mast breaking. It''s all relative.
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