# Benateau oceanis 40 Rating



## Dino803 (Feb 10, 2019)

I am on the west coast and I rece my beneteau 40 , The rating they gave us is 117
All boats in our class weigh about 13000 pounds , my boat weighs 26000 pounds , Yet we have the same rating 
Does any one know where I can find a correct rating for this boat? There are not many on the west coast 
Thanks 
Dino


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## sailors (Oct 12, 2011)

Here is the link for PHRF north east, it may not be the same for the west coast but should give you some idea.

PHRF New England - Handicapping - Base Handicaps


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## slap (Mar 13, 2008)

According to both sailboatdata.com and Beneteau, the Beneteau Oceanis 40 weighs 18,210 lbs,
with the 5'-1" draft keel. The deeper draft keel has 555 lbs less ballast so would weigh less.

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/oceanis-40-beneteau

http://www.beneteau.com/sites/default/files/public/Produit/PDF/40_en_0.pdf

The US Sailing 2017 PHRF Fleets by Class lists the base PHRF ratings from 111 to 123.


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

After looking at the ranges in other regions, it would appear that 117 is likely the correct rating for your boat. Other boats in your class (What class - are you referring to a rating band? Please clarify.) weigh less than you? Perhaps that is because they are smaller than you. PHRF ratings are not based just on displacement. They are based on performance. A big heavy boat that sails slowly may have the same rating as a smaller, lighter boat that sails at roughly the same speed, even though theoretically, the longer waterline should make the big boat faster. Our J/36 rates 84, and we sail circles (literally!) around big, heavy cruising boats like Catalina 42's, despite their considerable waterline advantage. Are the other guys all beating you? Time to do some self-evaluation: First off, if Beneteau says an Oceanis 40 should weigh 18,000 pounds, and yours weighs 26,000, you need to offload a LOT of gear. Then, how old are your sails? Who made them in the first place? (Were they ever any good?) Good sails can make a difference of 10º in how close you can sail upwind AND boost boatspeed at the same time. How clean is your bottom? Is the rig tuned properly? Do you have a folding prop? Do you get good starts? How good are your tacks, spinnaker sets and gybes? Crew work in general? How does your experience racing compare to the other skippers in the fleet? Golf handicaps are adjusted according to the individual golfer. PHRF handicaps are based on a standard boat being race-ready (which is not the same thing as cruise-able) and then it's up to the skipper to maximize the boat's polars and apply his or her tactical talents as they may. You may find David Perry's, Stuart Walker's, and Gary Jobson's books useful as well.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

Well said Paulk!

It is tough to take a cruising boat racing and be competitive unless you are going up against other cruising boats.

I am in the same situation with my Jeanneau 39i. I have been told that my base rating is 90! That means I owe time to a lot of smaller full on race boats! Of course that number will likely change once I measure up my sails, because they are likely under sized. PHRF also gives credits for things like old sails and fixed props. Of course you will get a big credit if you dont have a spinnaker. 

If you are racing against properly race prepped boats with racing sails etc you need to do as much prep as you can to be competitive. If not, the only chance you have is heavy air reaching legs where your waterline comes into play.

My home port yacht club has come up with a hybrid phrf system that adjusts ratings after every series, so if one boat is losing all the time and another boat is dominating, their ratings are adjusted accordingly. This eliminates the "arms race" of boat upgrades that many skippers dont have the resources to participate in. 

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

All of what Paul said.

But Dino, I would also suggest that you speak to your local rating committee, in person if possible, and just ask them. Tell them you're interested but don't really understand what looks like a discrepancy, and ask them what you're not seeing. Ratings CAN be appealed and changed to some extent, not quickly and not by much, and there are usually reasons for how they've been assigned. (Like, a rating may be based on 8 crew and you may only be sailing with 4, so you are missing six or seven hundred pounds of ballast on the rail.)

Bottom line is that the numbers are what they are, and arguably the only "fair" rating is to race one-class so there are no arguments about fair ratings! Other than that, yes it can be a long hard job to actually get all the speed your boat is capable of getting. And if you really want to pursue that--and expensive job, too.


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