The following is my answer to Kyle’s question “Is old still competitive?” But my answer is to all of you about whether we need to keep the old H16 PN #.
I think the old H16's PN # should remain 76.6 as the H16 PN # just changed to 76.1. I know this would create PN racing within the H16 ranks but maybe this would equal out the performance difference between new (1984 - 2000 +) and old H16's (1983 and back). Lets admit it the new H16's are lighter and more responsive performer. I know it is the skipper and crew that makes the boat go and but I also know the boat is a factor, why else would the top H16 racers regularly buy new H16's.
The challenge is to determine what age of boat we want the old PN number to be used with and if we really want to have a little PN racing within our ranks. The Hobie 16 Trapseat has a PN # of 77.6 for now so when the Trapseat sailors start showing up to Hobie regattas (which is currently the plan) we will be doing some PN racing anyways.
What makes the new boats faster? Just the hulls or are there other factors that are involved?
From my understanding they are lighter (in most cases), stiffer (new Euro corner castings), better tiller control (H20 style tiller connectors and rudder assembly gudgeons), better hull construction (stiffer hulls), etc. All this adds up to a little better performance and some added speed so I am told. The fact H16's today are a little faster than the 80's boats. Once again its the skipper and crew that get the boat going but once again the boat is also a factor, along with tuning the boat properly.