Crew weight rules apply in handicap racing

Certain one design classes include a maximum crew weight rule. The intent of such a rule is to help boat owners keep the same crew together regardless of the wind strength. And typically, it is best to be at the maximum crew weight.

Interestingly, this issue of crew weight for a class is not limited to the realm of their one design racing. When using IRC ratings, this rule states that “boats rated as one-designs shall conform with their one-design class rules in respect of crew number/weight limitations unless freed from this requirement by notice of race.” For boats other than one designs, IRC has crew number/weight rules as well. But for PHRF, this stipulation appears to vary.

US SAILING lists PHRF of Lake Ontario as its largest fleet, and their rules only refer to boat and sail dimensions. However, the second largest fleet is PHRF of Southern California, and their rules state that “when a boat is rated with the One-Design configuration, ..., the boat shall comply with all its One-Design class rules (including sail buttons, crew weight, etc.) Any modification to the One-Design class rules which might modify the boat’s PHRF One-Design rating shall be furnished to “the PHRF Regional Board immediately after the rule change becomes effective.”

Here is a partial list of keelboat OD classes with a crew weight rule:

Class - Crew Weight
Beneteau First 36.7- 1,550 lbs
Etchells - 628 lbs
Express 37 (NorCal) - 1,850 lbs or 8 crew
Farr 30 - 1,155 lbs
Farr 40 - 1,672 lbs
Flying Tiger 10M - 1,155 lbs
J/24 - 880 lbs
J/105 - 1,045 lbs
Melges 24 - 792 lbs
Melges 32 - 1,383 lbs

New York Yacht Club Swan 42 - 1,870 lbs

S2 7.9 - 1,100 lbs
Schock 35 - 1,750 lbs

One event that includes a crew weight rule is Key West Race Week, where regatta organizer Premiere Racing administers the Key West Performance Handicap Racing Fleet. The objective of the organization is to establish and maintain an equitable system of performance-based handicaps for boats participating at Key West, and one of the tools they use to level the playing field is to rate all the boats within their published Base Crew Weight Limitations.

Key West Race Week rules
IRC rules
PHRF-LO rules
PHRF-SoCal rules