TAMU (Aggie fan?):
Sorry....late to the party...was still typing during the last couple of posts...this is my edited reply...
Neither is technically correct since the factors are for deviations from class rules and there are no class rules for the H17 Sport. That said, the H17 rating with the JS (small jib) correction seems more appropriate because the crew weight corrections (L1-L4) are based on weight, not number of crew. (I'm not seeing a "2 man boat being sailed solo penalty".)
Is this regatta already under way? If so, I appreciate your wanting to work with the guy some. Either way, though, he should be reminded that it's the competitor's responsibility (not the RC) to know his correct rating and register using it. All the way up until the protest time limit for the last race of the regatta, he could be challenged by another boat (or sanctioned by the RC) and DSQ'd for all races. I know people that insist on racing with non-class legal equipment. While that may not seem like a big deal in most instances, I try to make them understand that they could be DSQ'd for the whole event and not even realize it until the racing's completed. All it takes is one other competitor who would benefit by having the "illegal" boat DSQ'd, and that desired benefit could be as little as one point in one race.
And here's a bunch more crap I had already typed...
Discussion of the stock H17 is really irrelevant to the argument, since the H17 is a class legal boat, and the H17 Sport is not (no class rules). I can't find where 1-up, 2-up, or slp are actually defined, but, in the Multihull Class Table, many of the boats (e.g., Mystere 4.3) are clarified as both Uni (or sloop and/or spi) and 1-up (or 2-up or both) all at the same time (and sometimes with the same rating). It should therefore be obvious (with the exception of your H17-Sport guy, maybe) that 1-up and 2-up refer to number of crew, slp means sloop (main + headsail), spi means spinnaker, etc.
His "everything is done by weight" statement is wrong, but i think your "single-handed penalty" one is incorrect too...it's the class and Portsmouth rules for the specific boat that govern. In your H18 example, for instance, the class rules don't include a minimum number of crew (some boats have it). An H18 can race class legal (take the 71.4 rating under Portsmouth) at min. 295 lbs. crew weight (or at min. 245 lbs. and carrying the allowed max. 50 lbs. to reach 295), regardless of the number of crew. That's the rule, and it should be implemented accordingly at all clubs, not just most. Similarly, since there is no minimum number of crew, there is no "single-handed penalty" for the H18. Rather than of the number of crew, the correction is for being less than minimum crew weight, and the factor varies based on how much less (L1 through L4 on the Multihull Modification Factors chart).
Later in the Portsmouth Tables, after the Multihull Modification Factors, there is a list of Multihull Weights...Min. Crew Weight, Min. No. of Crew, Min. Boat Weight, and Max. Added Weight (to meet minimum crew weight). This table is based on class rules (where they exist), and the data is all nl (not listed) for the H17-Sport. (Again, there are no class rules, so the data does not exist.) Therefore, the argument about crew weight for the H17 Sport is moot, too. However, to comply with the H17 Sport Portsmouth rating, his only "legal" option is to race 2-up (with crew and regardless of his/their weight) at the 74.5 rating. I don't think the rigging is otherwise much different, so it would be reasonable to allow him to ditch the jib, meet all the other H17 class rules for crew weight, etc., and take the 74.0 rating for the stock H17. Of course there are other "illegal" options...like letting him have it his way if he pays your bar tab for the weekend.
_________________ Jerome Vaughan Hobie 16
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