National Twelve Handicaps

The National 12 is a restricted development class that has been continually in development since its inception in 1936. With over 3500 boats having been built in that time to hundreds of different designs, and changes to the rules, it is recognised both at class and club level that Twelves perform to different levels. With this in mind the National Twelve Owners' Association recommends the following handicaps be considered for adoption for club handicap racing.

Whilst some clubs might be reluctant to deviate from the published RYA recommended Portsmouth Numbers (PN), the RYA do encourage clubs to develop their own list of PN numbers in order to use the scheme to its full potential to meet the objective of fair sailing between different classes of boat, (see RYA document 'PY Number Adjustment & Club List').

Older National Twelves provide a very affordable way into sailing for new sailors and with the ever-increasing cost of new boat ownership, clubs need to consider what they can do to get sailors on the start line in the fairest and most inclusive manner. In order to encourage the National Twelves racing at your club we have published below a table of suggested PN's which takes into account the age, construction and design of the boats over the years. These are a starting point and you may want to modify these to suit your local conditions.

Sail No's	Construction	PN	Year built
1-1152	Ribbed Clinker	1176	1936-1953
1153-2073	Earlier Glued Clinker	1151	1953-1963
2074-2511	Later Glued Clinker	1141	1963-1970
2512-3100	Four Plank era	1136	1970-1980
3101-3414	Smooth Hull  era	1110	1980-1996
3415-3518*	Double Bottom	1095	1996-2008
3519......	Foiled Rudder Boats	1070	2008.........

*Dinghies within this age range with a foiling rudder should be allotted the current RYA PN

Note: RYA changed the handicap from 1064 to 1070 on 22/02/2024 

NTOA changed the PN’s for club racing by an additional 6 points on 15/04/2024

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