One of the most fascinating things about our X boats is that they have two sets of ratings. The first (in the hundreds) is computed by Jim Teeters software which has been a bain to US sailors for a decade and is the reason that US sailors are not competitive on a world wide bases IMO. This software, actually a set of spread sheets, as I understand, is still being sold through US sailing. Best I can tell it is the culmination of vested interest in fixed keel designs.
But of course these are the failed designs of the past - embarassed by multihulls and now that multihull features, like rotating masts on the M and dagerboards (a kind of centerboard), have found there way to monohulls also embarrasing just period.
Jim Teeters software would rate the X at its unballasted weight and disregard the fact that in wind over say 7 MPH (depending on crew competency) 1000 lbs of water ballast would be added. It is such a hoaky thing to disregard that I deam it incompetency. Hence one day about a year and a half ago I get the news that my X is rated at an unracable 135. It is only through the rational discourse at South Sound Sailing Society that the rating of 241 (in test mode) has been obtained. I happen to think this about right . You can look it up on the PHRF-NW site.
You have to remember that the rating is designed so that on any given race day it is not possible to predict which vessel will win if the crews are equally competent. Take the swiftsure last week end.
The teeter supported TP52s are rated with the software Teeters developed. (I suspect). The designers designed the boats not for speed and not for seaworthiness but rather to obtain a favorable rating. Even so, we all know it was the professional crew on these boats and not the boats that is responsible for their good showing. I was dissapointed the two TP52s didn't race the same class but then other problems with their designs and rating would have been evident.
PHRF, and you can research this easially, was not meant for big race boats. Any boat rated under 300 should be out racing PHRF because, you have already paid for the insurance, and racing builds crew compentency that one day will come in handy. The changing of PHRF courses to support big race boats harms the sport of sailing and is a detriment to boating safety in that it desuades those who otherwise would do so from building crew compentency through PHRF racing
Frank L. Mighetto
1999 Mac26x Murrelet
San Juans this season
