Get the “tight” right

The fasteners (nuts and bolts) on my rowing shells used to worry me a lot. In fact, they kept me up at night.

Why?

Because I was never sure that they were tight enough.

Why should that bother me?

Well, two reasons. First, not tight enough and something comes apart—like a rigger at the 500-meter mark. It has happened, and races—some BIG races—have been lost because of it.

Second, too tight and something gets broken (like the boat).

In an attempt to sleep better, I observed coaches to see what they did.

I found that most just guessed. They put a wrench on, turned it a few times, and that was that. That system didn’t help my sleeplessness.

Another method I saw used a “torque wrench”—a tool designed to specifically tell you how much torque (twisting force) is being applied. No help there either, since in 30 years of rowing I’ve only seen one coach use a torque wrench.

So I had to figure out my own way to get some sleep, which I did. It’s something I call the “finger system.”

If you also have a hard time sleeping, try it and see if it helps.

This system is based on two principles. First, the larger the fastener, the more torque it needs. Second, your fingers are pretty good torque wrenches.

Since space is limited here let me tell you how to use this system just for rigger nuts (the smaller nuts used to attach the rigger to the hull).

First, start off by finger-tightening the nut.

Then hold a wrench between your first two fingers and thumb. With wrench on the nut and with fingers straight, push the wrench. When the fingers meet resistance they will bend. When they bend they are now pulling the wrench. When the two fingers can pull no more, the nut is tight.

I discuss in more detail other fasteners, such as the top-nut or top-bolt of an oarlock, and how to make sure that they are tight in my book The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging.

Give this system a try, and let me know if it works for you.

And if you’ve got a different system, and would like to share, let me know that also.