Inboard vs Outboard does it really matter for PHRF

[Cliff]

From what I have read in the reviews of the boat they are saying the outboard is the more favored boat for racing and I wonder by how much. I will be doing mostly PHRF racing and using the boat for cruising and am really tired of the outboard. After having 2 J 29 with the outboard I am ready for in an inboard, but how much does the boats performance suffer from an in board?

Thanks Cliff

[Jeffrey]

I have raced against an inboards and on an inboard had seen first place races several times against outboards and I never really could tell the difference. I'll bet if the Boston's raced on an inboard they would do just as well. But, you need a folding prop, and no weeds, clean and fair bottom and rudder of course. I have been tempted myself to go inboard, but where I race there are a lot of weeds, and you can't shed them very easily. Jeff #250

[Cliff]

We sail on Lake Erie and weeds are not a problem unless we go to the Bay and drive through them.

Thanks for the input.

Cliff

[Tim Bosma]

The inboards get anywhere from a 3 to 6 pt advantage in PHRF. they sail very good to their rating, just not so good as an outboard in an OD fleet.

[Runaway]

We raced Runaway for the first time (in three years) and did just fine with our inboard BMW D7. Make sure you have a folding prop - Martec 14 X 8 or 14 X 10 will do. Don't forget to lock your engine in reverse and mark the prop shaft so the blad pivot pins are vertical. You don't want gravity helping one blade to drop and slow you down.

You'll need good sails and even more important, good crew if you want to do well. Also, do some research to figure out board positioning vs wind direction.

Good luck!