hobie 18 spinaker package

Jack,
The only difference between your boat, my boat and an F18 is the curvature of the front beam ( the rear qualifies ). F18 rules do not state a 8' beam is illegal. Your boat cannot run with 18's or SX's in that configuration. Your number as an SX is way off base and by correcting from that number your boat IS a portsmouth killer. I base mine as a standard 18 and take hits for mainsail, mast and chute. My number is so close to the Tiger why not race as an F18 straight up. No need to play with the numbers. If you race it open class, which it is, you will be racing against yourself and your times. I have submitted a request to NAF18 to drop the curvature rule. I don't see that happening. Don't know how we always get to rules and numbers when discussing 18 upgrades. What have you done in addition to what is stated? What are you planning? What have you tried that didn't work? What works well?
PS- don't bring this up on catsailor, I allready have and the responses were all over the board.

My only upgrades are the sails, the lower profile mainsheet, the higher downhaul purchase, the mid pole snuffer, and the new fairleads on the cross bar to run the smaller jib. Everything else is just blocks and bungees to tame loose lines etc. My base number is the SX number with penalties for the larger chute and the bigger main. They group me with the spin boats and I have yet to beat them so my number is not a big issue. Once I learn how to handle this boat better it may become an issue but I'll cross that bridge when/if I get there. I think you would have to be nuts to run even with the F18's because we may be able to hang up wind but down wind they will leave us in every kind of air. But thats just my opinion. Portsmouth is like PHRF, it is designed to let similar boats race against each other such as Inter 20 and Tigers, and SX's with chutes. But with dissimilar boats it doesn't work. There is no way it would be fair to race an SX, or Tiger for that matter against an 18, or a 16. Usually the people who complain about other boats numbers are the ones that don't like theirs. Sometimes they have the right, sometime they are just not as good of a sailor as the next guy. An Inter 20 sailor I know once said, its your number, you didn't make it, and others don't like it they can always go buy a boat too. Personally, I'd rather race one design but can't afford to buy the boat so I make the best of the situation I have, and for me, its about the friendships, the parties, the sailing, and the road trips. The trophies don't make much difference to me, I could buy those all day long for a lot less than what it cost to haul the boat around and enter regattas. Sorry, I got on to a little soap box and should probably back space it out but oh well, I like to keep life interesting.

Jack,
Is your chute cut more like the SX chute or an F18 chute? I think you are letting your skill level sway your impression of the boats downwind speed. If your chute is cut full, like the SX, then you are right the F18's will leave you. If you are running a flatter F18 chute then you can stay with or beat them once your skills improve. One of the first things I found about going fast downwind was getting the boards up. As the 18 boards are so wide they won't slip like the high aspects do creating more heel when a puff hits forcing you to drive down. You can't lift the boards too high or you open the well and create drag. It really makes a substantial difference. The self tacker I found was from an I-20 and doesn't look that hard to install as the feet are moveable. Beneath the water line there is very little difference between our boats and Tigers. Rocker is similar, stern similar, but dagger well is a huge hole on the 18 and must be kept filled. I also can't afford to keep a delicate F18 for racing and this boat for recreation only. One boat must do it all. I race very occasionally and this project spawned as a result of sailing a Fox for 2 years. I really enjoy the extra element of spin sailing, unpredictable and exciting. I had almost lost interest in cats before trying the spin boat. I am much like you in racing, more there for the comraderie and fun than trying to win or prove anything. Its great to hear there are others doing this type of upgrading on the 18s.

I think our chute is more Tiger like than SX like. The boat deffinatly does not like to go dead down. We usually sail some pretty hot angles to the leward mark. Our local cat expert John Tomko (who has the credintials to deem him knowledgable) says to leave the boards down on the 18. His reasoning was that when you are doing the wildthing the boards will cause the boat to heel (as you said) and make you drive deeper to maintain the same level of heel and speed. When racing to the leeward mark down is the way you want to go over all so if you can drive a deeper course and keep the speed up then you should. To be honest it is all hearsay until I can speed test with the other 18SX down here that has many of the same mods. As for ratings if I ever find, or if the fleet as a whole finds that our boat is just a fast as a Tiger than we will lower our number accordingly. Right now we don't win anyways so I have not put to much thought into the rating.