DEMYSTIFYING: Prepping for IRC

MYTH: My boat is fully fitted out. To be competitive under IRC, I need to strip out the furniture and fittings.

REALITY: There are many fully fitted out production cruiser/racers that are very competitive under IRC. If your boat is comfortably fitted out, then you get a rating credit compared with a ‘stripped out’ boat. Furthermore, IRC is overtly aimed at standard production boats in whatever guise they leave the factory and actively discourages removal of standard items such as the table, doors or any other part of the fitout.

If you decided to remove any of the fitout, you would have to tell the Rating Office and your rating would go up. If you are racing against boats that have removed standard fitout, have they told the Rating Office? Or have they (illegally) just removed parts of the interior?

Source: RORC rating office, administrator of the IRC rating rule.