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.

A Creative Way to Keep Straps Organized On Raceday

Fellow coach and friend, Jason Steele, who coaches Worcester Polytechnical Institute (WPI), has a handy method to keep his team’s straps organized when they travel.

He uses a spool (yellow round object in photo) that he picked up at Home Depot, made it to fit the rack support on the trailer, and then just rolls up the straps when they are not being used. When they are needed, he just unrolls them, and removes the spool for traveling.

Very handy and inexpensive.

Gotta love those engineers . . .

Is Your Waterbottle Sinking Your Shell?

. . . it very well could be!

Casey Baker, who has been featured here before, recently wrote to me about damage to the bottom of shells. He has been noticing it due to the hard Nalgene water bottles that many rowers are using. Casey is currently the Southern rep for Resolute Racing Shells and sees a lot of boats at all the races he attends.

According to Casey what causes the problem is that during practices rowers store the bottles in the bottom of the boat. The bottles tend to roll around and if there is any sand or grit the bottle can cause wear that actually goes through the inner skin of the boat.

This can especially be a problem in wade-in launching situations, and also may be an issue in saltwater programs since salt can act as an abrasive, like sand.

A simple solution that Casey recommends is to put a sock around your water bottle. Another is to get a padded water bottle holder and clip it to the heels of your feet.  Pad it and/or prevent it from moving as much as possible.

Casey (and I)  hope this keeps some of you from needing unnecessary repairs!

Thanks Casey!

September is Tool Time

We’ve got some interesting plans for the blog coming up for September . . .

There will be several posts on the tools you need for success, such as:

• 10 Favorite Coaching Rowing Tools For On the Water
• 7 Critical Rigging Tools To Get Your Rowing Equipment Rocking
• Safety Tools I Never Leave the Boathouse Without
• Fast Tools for Fast Rowing

We also plan posts on helping you prepare for the change from sprint racing (2k) to head racing (5K).

Great stuff to help you get more out of your rowing.

So you don’t miss any of these articles click here to subscribe to the RSS feed, and have them delivered directly to you.

Does Rowing Equipment Go Wrong At The Big Races? (Part 2)

More about when bad things go wrong at the big race.

Does Rowing Equipment Go Wrong At The Big Races?

A post yesterday on Row2k got me thinking about this. Rowing equipment can go wrong at any race, and it certainly can at the BIG races, such as the World Championships or the Olympics.

Sometimes the results of those equipment failures can be small, such as a short equipment delay or a restart of a race.

Other times they can be devastating, such as this example. A high-tech, wonderful shell can certainly be stopped dead by a 49 cent fastener.

If you have a chance, check out a rowing coach while her race is coming down the course. It might look like she is holding her breath.

Now you know one reason why.

Share The Waterways

Sharing is part of rowing—for example we share the water we row on with many people. Anyone who grew up with brothers or sisters knows that sharing can involve hassles. One of these hassles is who do you turn to when you are having a conflict.

For rowers an area of potential conflict is the wakes generated by other boats. All vessels (including coaching launches!) are responsible for damage that their wake may cause, and wakes can definitely cause damage.

If you have a problem with someone’s wake you basically have two solutions—you solve it or someone else does.

Often the best recourse is to attempt to solve the conflict yourself. Do this by having a conversation with the individual that made the wake—an intelligent conversation—not a yelling match. In most cases drivers of boats don’t realize how fragile a shell is or how much damage their wake can cause. They may not even be aware of what their wake is doing. In these cases a polite and intelligent conversation may get to a resolution quickly.

But unfortunately you may find that the driver’s behavior, or the situation, may make the first solution difficult—then I suggest you take the second recourse (especially if any damage has been caused). The steps here are simple:

• Record as much information about the offending boat as possible (bow number, boat name, description)
• Get a witness (if possible)
• Report the information to the authorities

If the offending boat it is a commercial vessel then you should contact the United States Coast Guard directly. If the boat is privately owned then the information should be reported to your local authorities. Exactly who that authority is will depend on your area—it may be the county sheriff, marine patrol, or Department of Natural Resources. To find out who to report to you may need to make several phone calls.

Surf’s up. Be careful.

Get Your Oar Grip Race Ready-Right Now

An oar grip is an incredibly important place – it is where the rower meets the oar.  If that grip is not ready to race, the rower won’t be either.  Today, most (but not all) grips are made of synthetics. There are many different types of materials, sizes, and colors used. Regardless of these differences I found one commonality—if the grip is not clean it can be very difficult for the rower to have it do what she wants it to do.  Over time a grip can get dirty with such things as skin, sweat, blood, oil, plain old dirt, or aging pieces of the surface layer of the grip.  All of these can add up to cover an oar grip with a slippery coating.  Dirty grips will slip in a rower’s hand and if a dirty grip gets wet it can be extremely difficult to control.  A clean grip is easier to control, and as I wrote about before it can also cut down on infections. Read more

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