When the seasons change, so should your rigging numbers.
The *seasons* I’m referring to is the Head Race and Sprint Race seasons. Those two seasons require that you use different rigging numbers.
Here’s why.
The approximate hull speed of your boat determines the range of rigging numbers you should use for your leverage measurements. Here are the guidelines:
- The slower the speed of a boat, the lighter the leverage
- The faster the speed of a boat, the tighter the leverage
In other words, the slower the hull, the better gearing you need.
Look at it from a biking perspective. If you’re racing a 15-speed bike and are on a slight downhill, at maximum speed, you’re going to be in the highest gear possible so you can keep moving the bike. When you’re going uphill, you would downshift, so you can be more efficient.
The same needs to happen in terms of rowing.
For instance, let’s take two boats, a men’s eight racing a Head Race (Fall season), and a men’s eight racing a Sprint Race (Spring season).
The Head Race eight is usually going to be moving slower than the Sprint boat. Longer race, lower rating, rower’s conditioning not as good in Fall as in the Spring.
So what I suggest is that you start with lighter numbers in the Fall, and as the year progresses into the Spring season, you increase the leverage (make it feel heavier for the rowers).
Here are a few sample numbers (assuming the same length of oar):
BEGINNING OF FALL SEASON
Spread: 84.5 cm.
Inboard: 114.5 cm.
END OF SPRING SEASON
Spread: 83.0
Inboard: 113.5
And to make this change, do it gradually, over the course of several changes (making each change about .3 cms at a time).
To find your Head Race rigging numbers try this. Locate the leverage numbers that you want to use at the end of the Sprint season.
Let’s say for example, in a women’s eight the spread you want to have 84.2 cm, your inboard would be 114 cm. Working backwards from that in a series of steps, you will want to increase those numbers.
What I do is to look at my sprint numbers and will start with almost a full centimeter and a half more in the beginning of Fall. Right at the end of the Fall, when the boat is moving a little faster, I will tighten up the leverage, about .3 centimeters, going from 85.5 to 85.2. Then when the athletes return to row in February that is the leverage we use.
Then over the course of the Spring we will reduce that leverage two or three times more depending on the speed of the boat (remembering that the faster the boat, the less amount of leverage we have).
Okay, a lot of numbers and hopefully thought provoking stuff there. Hope you find it helpful.
If you’ve got comments, send them along to me.
