The People Of Rowing (Part 2)

A guest post by John Leekley from WildGoose Rowing. This post is written mostly to thank the amazing people at Chatham Area Rowing in Savannah, GA, who helped me out by pulling our trailer off the highway and out of harms way.

I am the reason for Mike’s last post, The People of Rowing.  I am probably the reason for most of the non-family related stress in Mike’s life as well. I work for Mike, and like all coaches, I’m learning how to do my job and making a ton of mistakes on the way.  Mike gets the brunt of these.

I drove the truck and trailer south for the spring training trip this year, breaking down in Savannah, GA.  I had to leave the trailer on the side of the road and go with the tow-truck to get the truck fixed.  For the weekend and most of Monday I camped out at a hotel while the mechanic discovered one problem after another with my truck.

The biggest stress for me this weekend wasn’t the fact that my team was running on the beach instead of rowing, or that my truck was in the shop, or that I wasn’t at the beach after a winter of 80 inches of snow. It was that my trailer and all those shells was stuck on the shoulder on I-95.  I spent most of my waking hours trying to find a truck to rent or borrow, with no luck. (Why don’t they teach this stuff at the coach’s clinics?)

Then I found Chatham Area Rowing Association on Row2k and called them immediately.  They answered my call for help, giving up a practice to pull my trailer of the interstate and to the hotel where I was camped out.

One of the things that I have always loved about rowing, and one of the things that has kept me in the sport for 13 years, is the people.   Without people like Scott Nohejl, the head coach at CARA, the rowing community wouldn’t be what it is.

Rowing is a sport where people help people, whether they are rivals or competitors or friends or whatever.  I had never met Scott before cold-calling him Monday afternoon to beg for help.  He didn’t hesitate to answer my call, and his generosity saved my boats and maybe someone on the highway.

I, and my program, owe Scott and CARA a tremendous amount of gratitude.

Hopefully someday we’ll be able to repay it.

The Critical Note After Talking To C2

I’ve spent a bunch of time over the years getting to know the folks at Concept II—a great bunch.

Recently I had a long discussion with them about oar blade shapes, and how best to rig them.

Although these notes are scribbled there is one note on the page that is absolutely of critical importance to anyone who rows.

Can you tell which one it is?

Read more

Different Size Scullers, Times, and Catch Length in a Single

Q0 Brett wrote:

Hi, I purchased your book awhile back but can’t seem to find this piece of information:
I am rowing a mixed double with my girlfriend who is very small. (5′2″ 110lb coxswain) she is having trouble getting the rate up and I’m pretty sure its the loading on her oars. What do you think her loading should be? Mine is 86.5 inboard and 290 something length. Her last 2k was around an 8:30. Thanks for the help.

A) My Response: Hi Brett. I’m surprised that she (as a coxswain) is not blaming you for the issues!! (Ahem, just kidding. . . )

Per the rigging, I would suggest that if the oars are NOT adjustable that you give her about 1cm more of inboard and about the same on the span. If the oars ARE adjustable then I would shorten the oars about 1 cm, keeping the inboard the same. And then test. And test, and test.

The big thing here would be to test (did I mention that already?), and do changes slow and methodically.

Q) Rick wrote:

I’m a sculler, who’s always been told to set my foot stretchers so that when I sit straight up, the oar handles, if butted together would meet my sternum. It’s been explained that further back and you tend to pull through too much. Closer and you don’t have the room to clear at the finish. That’s worked fine, until I’ve started to work with my son, who is 6′7″. Trying to do that with my Hudson single… his shins hit the rigger. Am I using the right approach? If so… what am I missing?

A) My Response: Rick,  I would tend to think your son is over-compressing at the catch, and he might be doing it to compensate for not enough work through the pin. I would measure the distance from a plane cutting across the sternward stops of the track to a plane that goes through the pin. It should be “0” or  even less. Go to the numbers page to find out how to measure it and to see what the numbers should be. Measure away and then follow up and let us know what you’ve got.

Q) Jack wrote:

Hi Mike,  I have recently subscribed to your email newsletter. I row in New Zealand at a school called Christ’s College we finished last season on a high note coming second at the national’s regatta in the under 16 division (15 year olds) 8+. We finished with a time of 6:09.44.
I was wondering if you could help me out with a question thats been burning in my mind for quite some time now. How would our time (6:09.44) stack up against American crews of roughly the same age? I know that there are always variables involved, such as conditions, but I am just looking for a general idea. Could you please help me?

Welcome Jack, and great to hear of your success. To find out more about your time I’m going to suggest that you go to Rowing Illustrated and chime in on one of the forums there. Lot’s of smart people, with lots of opinions. They should be able to help you. Also, look up USRowing’s results for summer racing. More info there.

Can you help our readers with any suggestions?

An Oar Problem

Reader Jason recently wrote:

Mike,
This is my 4th year around rowing and my first year as an official equipment manager. Our club is without boathouse and our equipment spends most of its time outside. We try to put our oars under something, but many of our novice oars are older and starting to show age. One particular problem we’re running into is that the fiberglass on the shafts is starting to splinter up and get rough. This makes young novice arms very itchy and unpleasant. We’ve been talking about spraying the shafts with clearcoat to seal them, do you have any better ideas or can you suggest a good product to seal them?

My Response: Thanks for your question . . . and I think that you might have a pretty significant problem going on with the oars. My suggestion, call CII immediately, and ask their opinion. You’ve got a serious case of photo degradation, which if that is the case, you probably won’t want to be using the oars since the chance of them shattering/breaking might be significantly increased. However,  see what the folks in Vermont have to say. In the meantime, do you have a photo of them? That might help us better understand the issue.

Hull Paint, Corrosion, Body Tweaks, and Rigging for the Release or Catch

Yes, yes . . . I know. I’ve been very tardy in posting, but to make it up slightly I’m answering four very patient reader’s questions right now.

Q) Malcolm writes:

I just bought a 98 Vespoli single and was noticing that it was in need of a new paint job (paint chipping and scrapped all over). I was wonder what the best way to paint a boat is. How do I remove the original layer of paint? What type of paint should I use? How should I paint it?

A) My response: Malcolm: I’m going to strongly suggest that your first step is to get an estimate from a professional. Seldom have I seen it turn out well when folks try to paint their own hulls, unless they are well experienced. I would suggest these, in order of priority:

1. Vespoli USA
2. Klinger Engineering or Rowing Repair Center or another company that specializes in paint rowing shells
3. A local reputable auto body shop

In your brief description you may have other problems in which the chipping paint is just a symptom. Before investing in painting you want to see what is going on so you don’t waste money.

Make sure that whoever gives you an estimate for repair actually sees the boat first. That is important.

Q) Michael from Bermuda writes:

Good day. Excellent site -well done. Please, what do you recommend for (a) cleaning encrusted salt from rigger pins etc and (B) any product that we can add to the wash that we give our boats on each outing to prevent salt build up.

A) My response: Rowing in brackish (salty) water can cause havoc with metals, and that is where your problem is coming from. Basically what is happening is called galvanic corrosion, where one metal in contact with different type of metal, in an enviroment that conducts electric, will corrode.

In plain English, one of the metals in your rigger is touching another type of metal. When salt is around (a conductor) one of the metals is losing electrons (corroding). If you don’t do something about this, you are going to have a problem.

I suggest two simple solutions that may help. The first easy, the second not so easy. Both are designed to keep the salt out of the equation.

1. Wash your equipment completely after each row, this will remove most of the salt. I suggest more than just a spray from a hose. Actually wash with soap and water and scrub. Then make sure the equipment dries. I’ve found that even though a boat gets washed, in areas of high humidity around salt water, salt may actually be in the air in enough concentration to effect the equipment (this happened to the Statue of Liberty). So wash frequently even if you don’t use the equipment.
2. Insulate the two metals from each other. In this case you can do this with a product in paste form, such as lithium grease (aka white grease). This will cut down the corrosion, but will be messy and you might find that the equipment might slip and need to be adjusted quite often, since the force of friction will be greatly reduced.

Q) Peter writes:

I am a new rower & sculler having taken up the sport in my forties. I am 6′2″ and 98kg and am starting to realise that I am slightly one sided, people who sit behind me often saying my right shoulder is consideably lower than my left. I havent had any problems when in the training boats but I am feeling very uneven in a fine single scull and am very sensitive to the slightest change of set up. Have you any suggestions? My own thought is to experiment with a packing on the right side of the seat to tilt my pelvis or possibly fit a spacer between the seat and the rail assemblly to do the same.

Yours faithfully a frustrated vet. novice.

A) My response: Peter, I feel for you. Really.

I would suggest your first step would be to see a good chiropractor—not because you may need an adjustment, but maybe you have an issue or two that they could help you with first. For example, a friend of mine came down with terrible hip problems that lasted regardless of treatment. He finally went to a chiropractor and she noticed that one leg was longer than the other, by almost an inch. He then rowed with a shim in the sneaker of the shorter leg and problem solved.

I would  start there first. If that doesn’t help, send me another blast and let’s go from there.

Q) Joe writes:

I’ve been reading up on rigging and I’m confused as to which is the best way to rig 4’s & 8’s.

I’ve read about rigging for the catch and rigging for the release. One method (for the catch) is to measure the work-through and use the stern stops as a guide to provide a uniform seat position and therefore catch angle (assuming similar body types are rowing). The other method has you measuring the work-through to the bow stops and using them as a reference for stretcher position and therefore seat position and uniform releases throughout the boat. I’ve read that releasing together is important for boat set and that catches will occur simultaneously as the everyone follows the stroke. However, in that case the actual catch angles of the blade will depend on the varied body types rowing in the boat.

For the most part with the various types and qualifications we get with our Masters rowers we have them set the stretchers so their hip bone is about 1-2cm through the pin. This is fine for those situations, but when we put a race crew together we want to make sure we have the boat rigged for that crew and best boat speed. We recently raced in a borrowed boat that obviously had been rigged for the release and had tape marks on the hull to line up the stern wheels to. This configuration felt good and might have contributed to our 2nd place finish. So which way is the best way to rig?
Thanks

A) My response: Joe, I know you will want to whack me for this, but the way that works best for you is the best way. (This is a common question that I do get quite often.)

I suggest that people make a commitment to either rig for the catch, or rig for the stern. And that depends on the part of the stroke that they deem needs focus the most. I would do some testing, and if you can get your hands on a SpeedCoach or other timing device, I would try to rig the boat one way, and then test, and then the other way and test again. Which one works better?

If that might be too much then since your crew seemed to like the feel of the release-rigged set up that might be the best way to go.

Preparing Your Rowing Hull for Fall Season

Here is an interesting question from Travis:

Hey Mike,
So we’re gearing up for the start of Fall season already down here in Florida. We are about to do some work on our hulls and had a questions for you. How best to prepare the hull: 1) Clay bar the hull and then wax it, or 2) Use rubbing compound on the hull and then polish it? Our boats were stored outside for a few years while our boathouse was being built and now that we have a home we want to make our boats look great again…any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the question Travis. It is one that I do get quite often, and have several posts on it:

• Cleaning a Hull
• To Wax, Or Not To Wax . . .
• Six Steps To A Million Stroke Boat

. . . but it is certainly a question worth discussing some more.

The hull of a shell is one of the most critical, yet overlooked, parts of a boat. It’s function is just not speed but also rigidity. When there is a hull problem, especially a problem under the waterline, there is an entire boat problem.

One of the best methods to prevent hull issues is maintenance . . . smart maintenance. This begins with keeping your hull clean. I won’t go great detail here, since they are covered in the other posts listed above, and the Special Report, Last Almost Forever. But the critical theme is to keep it clean, and then to protect it, especially if it is stored outside.

I would suggest, in your case, not to go with Clay Bar. Although I have never used the product (and if anyone has please comment below) but researching it left me with the impression that it would leave a residue on the hull that you would not want, and the focus would not be on really getting the hull clean. And clean is critical when racing.

I’m going to suggest that you use rubbing compound, with a grit (the measure of abrasion) between 1500 and 2000. Here is a product very similar to what I use, 3M Rubbing Compound, 16oz (3M 39002) and it is 50% off at Amazon.

Careful as you work the compound. You are just trying to remove grime or oxidation and not scratch the hull.

After cleaning the compound off I would suggest to coat the hull with a very thin layer of nice car/boat wax. Make sure that the wax has UV protection in it. It should say that on the label.

As you get close to racing, then remove the wax, because it will slow the boat due to friction.

I hope that helps, and if anyone has suggestions for Travis, let us know.

Rigging, Leverage Formula and The “M”

Reader Mike writes:

Hi Mike – love your site and your book – one question I can’t seem to find the answer to… What is the “M” value of CII Fat Smoothie sweep oars? Look forward to the answer…

Mike is talking about the leverage formula that I use to keep track of the load of a specific rig. I discuss it in detail in several places, but basically here is the formula:

[(L-I)-B/M]/S

In the equation L= oar length, I= inboard, B= blade length, M is a variable, S is the spread, and B/M togther represent where the center of pressure is on the blade.

Two things of importance here:

1. Measurements are metric
2. Do not use this formula to compare between different blade shapes, just between oars with the same blade shape.

The M that reader Mike refers to helps find the approximate center of the oar. The number that I use is, for rectangle shaped oars (or close to it)  2 (for 1/2 the length of the blade), and 3 (for 1/3 for the length of the blade) for macons. I am not sure what I would use for something like a delta, I would have to measure it first, or talk to the maker.

In this case,  a for CII Fat Smoothie that is 52 centimeters long, the M would be 2.

There is debate as to whether this number, and in fact the formula, have value. I’ve found it to be helpful for me in keep track of things, although I strongly caution again anyone to use it to compare different blade shapes.

What do you use to keep track of your leverage/load?

Making An Eight Into An Octuple (Coxswain Beware!)

I received an excellent question from Rob the other day, about sculling in an eight. He asked:

I’ve always wondered how to rig an eight for sculling. Do you use two sets of quad riggers or the sweep riggers w/sculling oarlocks? What rigging numbers would one use as a starting point?

Let me address the rigging number part first.

Numbers

Most folks rig an octuple for fun and practice (and not for profit!). I’ve only seen them raced once, and it was certainly entertaining.

I’ll assume that you want to be as effective as possible with your numbers, so you are going to need to experiment. [If you are just making the octuple for one practice I would not be overly concerned about getting the best numbers, just within a workable range.]

I would start with the numbers that you would use for a quad. An octuple will be a fast boat, maybe faster than the quad with the same level of rowers, so that should be a good place to start. Then if it looks like the rowers might be rigged too light (legs slamming down on the drive, for example) you might want to increase the leverage. Do this be either reducing the span slightly or lengthening the oars.

Do it gradually and keep looking. If you are really into finding speed, play with the numbers while checking the speed.

Riggers

This is the interesting part, since very few (none that I know) coaches and Riggers actually have set aside riggers for an octuple. They usually have to take other sculling riggers and use them. The main difficulty with this will lie in finding riggers that actually fit the boat correctly. And the problem area will be the plates where the riggers attach to the gunwale.

Boats usually have a flare to the gunwale, an angle the the gunwale rotates away from the centerline of the boat (see the drawing). The make of the shell will determine the angle, and it varies quite a bit.

And to add to this issue, riggers are made to fit to this angle. So  . . . your eight might have an angle to it, and the riggers that you are stealing (er . . . borrowing) from a quad to use will also have an angle to them. All this will impact your lateral pitch, and really your height.

My best advice is to throw one rigger on and give it a measure to see if it will fit. Check the height first, and adjust it around to see if you can get what you need. Then check the lateral pitch. You can probably get a quick idea if this is going to work for you.

One Word Of Warning

Just keep in mind when making an octuple that you will now have 8 scullers in one place. Give the coxswain combat pay (and probably disconnect the voice system!).

Anyone have suggestions for Rob?

15 Passenger Vans And Rowing Shells Don’t Mix Well

Dick recently submitted this question and seemed like a great one to open to discussion:

I read in my copy of  “Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging” that one should never use a 15 passenger van to carry a boat.  Our club has been using a 15 passenger van for some years to carry a 4+ about 75 miles to a regatta, and there have been no issues.  What’s the problem, overhang?

The overhang Dick mentions is certainly an issue (Overhang is the length an object extends past the end of a vehicle). Some states only allow 3 feet of overhang, and although it has been a while since I’ve seen (or measured) the overhang of a four on a 15p van, I would bet that it would be upwards of 10 feet or more.

However, the real critical issue here is roll-over. Fifteen passenger vans are notorious for their roll over problems, contributing to many accidents and deaths. Many institutes no longer use the vans, and those that do usually limit them to only 9 passengers (to keep the center of gravity lower).

Locally I know that if I were to transport shells on a 15p van that I would void the insurance.

My suggestion would be to check with the local authorities to see what they say about your suggestion, and then check with your insurance company.

I would also suggest that you do a quick Google search on these terms, “roll over 15 passenger van.” I think you will find the results quite sobering.

That’s my advice to Dick. What do you think?

Product Review: Active Tools Self-Centering Span Gauge

Spread is the distance from the centerline of the shell to the center of the pin. It is a critical measurement to know since it can quickly make your rowing fun or hateful, fast or slow.

Why? Because spread (in sweep) and span (in sculling) is one of the main critical determinants (my way of saying really wicked important) of the leverage of your rigger. And that determines how heavy or light you are geared. Getting your gearing just right is part art and part science. And one of the science parts is measuring your distances correctly so you know what you have.

I reviewed Active Tools Self-Centering Span Gauge over the course of this year. When I first received it, it was not the first tool I reached for to measure the spread . . . I kept grabbing my handy-dandy tape measure. That was more out of habit than out of choice. So I found I had to make myself use the gauge.

After about a week of using it, it became my measuring device of choice. I liked the way it felt, the aluminum is nice, and it gave very accurate measurements. I also found it to be a lot more durable than I thought. One real testimony to it was that the other coaches around also wanted to use it.

The gauge is very easy to handle, and uses a neat system that automatically compensates for distances, so the days of measuring the width of the boat, and dividing by two and then taking that measurement out to the center of the pin are gone. Now all you have to do is place the gauge on the boat, slide the lever under it to the gunwale, pull out the measurement stick, and your done. I timed myself, and could measure an entire eight in about 45 seconds. It would take me about 3 minutes to do one with a tape measure.

Here is a short video of me using it.

Bottom Line

If you find yourself measuring the spread or span of a boat frequently, this might be a good tool for you. It is tough, accurate, and works simply and well. Although some might find the cost prohibitive the Active Tool Self-Centered Span Gauge is a top quality tool that does a great job.

Pros

• simple to use
• storage container included
• easy to read
• quickly gives accurate measurements

Cons

• bulky compared to a tape measure
• significantly more expensive than a tape measure
• just in metric

Details

• Cost: $170 US
• For more information: http://www.active-tools.com/rowing_tools/self_centering_span_gauge.aspx

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