Tankengine: I thought about this exact issue actually and mulled it over some time. Are you completely sure about this point? I interpreted the regs that you can operate NVFR under your IR, so technically the aircraft only needs to be NVFR rated because you are operating under NVFR rules?
Wrenval,
I interpret the rules just like you do and so did my chief pilot.
If you have enough hours for the issue of a NVFR (excluding the NVFR Flight Test) and you have a valid IF then you can go NVFR in a NVFR rated aircraft. If I am wrong then could someone please show me the relevant information stating otherwise.