A. A spinnaker is any sail set forward of the foremost mast whose width, measured between the midpoints of its luff and leech, is equal to or greater than 75% of its foot length. A headsail is a sail set forward of the foremost mast whose width, measured between the midpoint of its luff and […]

A. Sail material guidelines are intended to encourage the use of sails that are cost efficient and that are aesthetically appropriate for Classic racing.  Classic Yacht Racing Guidelines first published in 2020 remove the prior requirement for paneled construction and allow for ‘molded’ sails.  This change also removes the requirement for ‘woven fabric.’   In […]

A. The rigs of some older boats have been upgraded by replacing the original wire standing rigging with stainless steel rod, which implies a rating advantage.  Also, some boats are fitted with composite (typically carbon) standing rigging, that results in a substantial performance advantage. A Standing Rigging Factor that was new for CRF 2020 addresses […]

A. Yes, as long as you declare a spinnaker pole length ‘SPL’. Note that a whisker pole can only be used to wing out a headsail, and not to trim a spinnaker. Also, be aware that if you do declare an ‘SPL’, your calculated spinnaker area will be larger, and your rating will be faster, than […]

A. This sail is by definition a headsail and not a spinnaker (See RRS 55.4), and CRF will rate it as a headsail. For such a sail, ‘IG’ would be declared as the vertical distance from the sheerline to the top of the sheave supporting its halyard, and not to the upper end of the […]

A. Under CRF, gaff headed mainsails in the SOT class will be rated as ‘square headed’. Exceptions to this approach are possible in cases where the sail configuration is very intentionally designed to have an entirely traditional appearance, with the gaff length on the order of 2/3 that of the boom length. However, any such exceptions […]