(IRC) Case study

Tom Humphreys suggests you do not 'need' a TP52 to enjoy high performance sailing under IRC...

With our IRC42 design Oystercatcher XXVI now into her second full season and work commencing on a second-generation design, this seems an appropriate point to review our office's thinking about IRC development in the popular mid-size range.

The main aim with the design of Richard Matthews' Oystercatcher was to create a fun, lightweight, fast and simple boat to sail, much in the same vein as a GP42 or TP52. However with the majority of the race program being IRC events it was imperative to make the boat competitive under this system.

For readers less familiar with the routines involved in the design of IRC-optimised yachts I will attempt a brief summary of some of the processes, at least of those employed at this office. IRC is a hidden rating system, in that the nuts and bolts governing a boat's rating are not publicised, limiting the ability of a designer to overexploit any particular weaknesses in the rule. However, most designers have attempted to set up their own programs to make educated guesses at how different parameters are weighted within IRC, enabling more design routes to be explored than the six trial rating certificates per annum restriction would otherwise allow.

The key parameters driving IRC are length, displacement and sail plan geometry, with factors such as beam, draft, overhangs, construction materials, etc also contributing significantly...

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