Flaws
No rating rule is perfect and all have flaws. Alleged flaws to the PHRF rating system include;
An assumption that a rated boat is in bristol racing condition with a clean bottom, new sails and an experienced crew. This assumption excludes those with shallow pockets and experience from the winners circle and discourages many boats from racing. In fact the basis for a boats rating is that the boat is well prepped with good sails and competent crew makes it an effective club and local-regional handicapping system.
PHRF tends to be viewed as extremely political since rating values are perceived as very subjective and not based solely on empirical data. It is not an uncommon belief that the PHRF officials strongly influence ratings of their own boats to their favor. In reality, decisions are made based on review of history and when there is a conflict of interest the PHRF official is not part of the decision process.
Design characteristics of boats yield different performance characteristics in various seas and winds. PHRF does not address these differences. The result is that it is not difficult to predict which boats have a better chance of winning based on conditions during a race. This is especially true where design characteristics are extremely different. An example would be a light displacement, planing hull verses a heavy displacement non-planing hull.
Where design characteristics are similar, PHRF is skewed to favor larger boats with longer waterlines.
Read more about this topic: Performance Handicap Racing Fleet
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