>>But also less righting moment and less pairs of hands


Wait a minute. You can't use the righting moment excusse here ! In light winds (NO TRAPEZING group) righting moment is not an issue as all crews can then generate more rigting moment then they need.

And in the strong wind rating the righting moment was calculated and used to compensate the rating. The I-17R received a swing of 6 rating points (3 minutes and 36 seconds) while the F18 good a swing of nothing ! By this the I-17R is rated slower than the F18 in the heavy weather rating (trapezing group)

You may think the swing is still not enough but you can't say that NMBR doesn't take "less righting moment" into account because it does.

>> less pair of hands.

Well yes, that is another matter although in the light stuff this may not be much more of a factor than 1 or 2 rating points. I mean how much longer do you need as a singlehander to set or take down a kite in race. A few second. Will 36 to 72 second compensation be good enough for that ?

By any account this is only a small offset.

In strong winds I say "less pair of hands" is a bigger factor.

Again guys please look at the other things as well. The single hander with spi was already identified as an point of attention in the post giving the NMBR table. The spi hit to singlehanders seems to be a bit harsh, I'm contemplating what to do with it already.

What do you guys think of the H16's versus F18 for example or the evert recurring Curacau US I-20 to EU I-20 issue ?

Wouter