Handicap number for Surfski's

I have had an idea rattling around my head for a while so i thought it was time to throw it out for discussion.

I notice in all of the forums that there is an endless amount of debate/questioning as to what Ski is faster than the other one, and this ski is better than that etc, etc. This leads to various peer pressure for people to upgrade their ski's to something faster, lighter, tippier more carbon blah, blah, blah, which leads me to my point.

Has anyone ever considered a handicapping system where different skis are rated for speed. For example lets say a V12 is rated as a 1 (fastest ski) and a V10Sport is rated at 0.8 (slowest ski). Thus over a standard race if the V12 covered the track in 1hr then it's elapsed time would be 1hr. However the V10Sport covers that same course in 1hr20, when multiplied by the boat handicap the V10Sports handicapped time would be 64minutes or 4 minutes slower than the V12.

Now obviously my example above is not accurate but the principle is there to see. The important thing is to take opinion and subjectivity out of the equation. Now i know there will be lots of people that say the boat handicap doesn't allow for which boat is easier to paddle in rough water or if the tide changed half way etc, but at least it would show more the effort of the paddler than the depth of their pocket. My idea would be to start a database (possibly on this website) where race results all around the world get entered based on the boat type, therefore the more results get entered from different types of racing then the more typical the handicap would get. The key to any kind of success that this would have is simplicity, so i would think you could ignore what layup a ski is (club, performance, ultra etc).

The hope with what i am suggesting is that in theory paddlers of equal fitness and ability can compete and compare themselves regardless of the level of equipment. The idea isn't new as it is similar to handicapping in yacht racing (though i hope less complex). All it needs is someone smarter than me to come up with the suitable database/formula or whatever to make it work. There is already a repository of multiple results here rms.blastpaddlers.org/results that would be able to be turned into some kind of handicapping table.

Thoughts.....

They do the same thing for mixed fleet sailing

Wesley has put together something along those lines:

surfskiracing.org/surfski-reviews-updated-march-2012/

Is this what you were thinking. His chart allows for speed and relative stability.

Of course stability is a subjective issue, i believe.

Even though the chart is full of good information it is a bit to general for my liking. I am really looking for more of a performance number to apply to different ski's.

Nice idea, but will never work, we paddle in moving water, every rating of speed would be different for every different condition, ie crosswind, downwind. The diff into wind is much greater than downwind, even without any change in waves. If u rate the two boats on flat into wind conditions, and then race downwind the v10sport will win every time.
The current system, chose the boat u are fastest in on any one day is the only fair way to test fitness and skill

Agree with Physio.Not agree with Markmywordo