All
In actual real terms, there are very few active classes in the catamaran fleets, probably less than 10 or so. Things like the F18 fleet encompasses perhaps 7 or 8 manufacturers boats that are all listed as separate boats. There are a few anomalies like the F16 fleet where the manufacturers due to a number of reasons struggle to get down to minimum weight, prefer to take the better handicap that is associated with a heavier boat.
We at Datchet I think are down to only about 10 individual classes on the rating file we use, if a member of visitor turns up with a not so well known boat, then we plan to simply enter the details individually.
Interesting about Excel, I think I can replicate it here and will have a look later to see if we can definitively nail this down as it has cost me a lot of hours.
Regards
Wayne.
In actual real terms, there are very few active classes in the catamaran
fleets, probably less than 10 or so.
True on this side of the pond as well.
Racing classes in my local are
Hobie 14, 16, 17, 18 F18, F16, F16 One up, A class, Nacra 20, Supercat 22. Everything else is firmly in the Dead Boat Society bin.
A worthy objective is to make handicap scoring easy for the poor SOB who is tasked with scoring for their clubs one annual regatta. IME. once you learn one program... no matter how limited... you have no incentive to change. In the mid atlantic USA... they use javascore because the author was local and it was the first program out there and available. For OD and PHRF and OPTI scoring ... it works..., The reluctant scorekeepers are coached up and can do the bare minimum... But users are flumoxed when having to do portsmouth or something unusal.
I think a ratings file which recognizes reality and has the drop down list for the popular boats in that locale and a second step to open up the full ratings database would make handicap scoring a bit easier on the once a year user. Having the drop down list segment boats already in the event does not help the once a year scorekeeper (They have no idea if the owner has identified his boat properly and in the same way that it appears on the rating database... They hate the fuzzy factor here.
My two cents and of course.... YMMV
Mark S