Hi Bob:

I've had a #2 in the past primarily for short handed/doublehanded sailing and the 6 seconds allowed under PHRF moving the rating to 135.

These sails were primarily sold around here to do the doublehanded Farrallons race. And some boats used them on the long down hill runs including Coastal Cup for that rating advantage. They were also used on the Ditch Run until outlawed by the race committee for this particular race which is 90% down wind; most of the time.

#2s do work well enough upwind when the boat is limited to 4 crew. Otherwise with 5 crew, they have a very narrow range of wind conditions and in my opinion are a waste of time vs going directkly from #1 to #3.

Personally, I enjoy sailign with the #1 in the top of its range on E27 with 5 (and even up to 6) crew for PHRF. And, for the Fun Series (depite the strategy of that series) would prefer to continue racing with the #1.

Mike

:: Ralph, thanks for the clarification. I was told when I
:: first got my boat that the original crew weight from
:: Carl was 1000 lbs. I believe you would know the real
:: facts. Still I agree with Mike's argument that a 980 lb.
:: weight rule makes much more sense from a management
:: perspective and will not appreciably stress the boats,
:: as some are concerned.
::
:: I don't mind your suggestion of sail changes, either. I
:: know from past experience with some other, larger, ULDBs
:: that they did not sail well upwind with a #2. Have you
:: sailed an E27 with a #2? If so what was the performance
:: difference?