This table shows a rough correlation between DPN Handicaps and Sail Area/Weight ratios. Here, the DPN handicap is incremented 5 points, and an average Sail Area/Weight ratio is calculated for that sample. The Sample Size (number of boats included in that average) and Average DPN for that sample are listed to the right. The handicaps are from the US Sailing Handicap tables, the data is derived from the Dinghy Database (under Links on this website).
Essentially, this shows that if you can't increase your sail area, then reduce your boats weight. Increasing sail area on boats that are already powered up going upwind won't make them faster, but reducing their weight would make them faster upwind. Since this benefit works both upwind and downwind, it is the obvious place to start. Flying a spinnaker downwind usually results in a doubling of sail area, and in the case of the very fast boats, even a tripling of sail area.
Thus the Sail Area to Weight ratio goes down from both factors - these very fast boats are light, and usually carry large or very large spinnakers. Upwind sail area is usually between 185 square feet and 215 square feet, showing some common opinion on how much sail can be carried upwind on a dinghy.
| Category | Avg Sail Area/Weight Ratio | Sample Size | Avg. DPN |
| 0 < DPN < 75 | 0.55 | 7 | 72.7 |
| 75 < DPN < 80 | 0.49 | 9 | 74.2 |
| 80 < DPN < 85 | 0.36 | 5 | 82.2 |
| 85 < DPN < 90 | 0.35 | 14 | 87.8 |
| 90 < DPN < 95 | 0.27 | 19 | 91.9 |
| 95 < DPN < 100 | 0.23 | 14 | 97.9 |
| 100 < DPN < 105 | 0.23 | 2 | 102.8 |
| 105 < DPN < 110 | 0.21 | 2 | 108.6 |
| 110 < DPN | 0.15 | 6 | 131.1 |