Rigging For An Ocean Row
September 20, 2008 by Mike
Filed under Rig Differently, Rigging Numbers
Peter sent this note along about an upcoming adventure:
How’s it going Mike!
I’m rowing across the Atlantic this winter in the following boat which is an ocean rowing boat with 8 sweep rowing positions – 4 on port, 4 on starboard. As one of the only river rowing people on the crew, the skipper has asked me to look at the rigging, I’m going to base the span on the span for a racing 8 (i.e. an Empacher). what do you think? can you help me on this?
Hey Peter:
First off, you’re nuts. Why would anyone want to row away from a perfectly good continent?
Second, good for you. Sounds like a cool thing to do (for you, not for me).
Per rigging, that is a tough one. Things are much different than in sweep racing. Such as
- The width of the boat is much greater
- The length of the oars are great
- The width from the center line of the boat to the center of the pin is huge compared to sweep racing
- The conditions of the water are much more of a significant issue
- The weight of the boat is much greater
All of these items add up to make the rigging a totally different concept than for sweep racing.
I’ve worked with some friends who row oar-rig rafts for a living. I’ve rowed them too. They build their rigging off of several things such as:
- sturdiness
- height above fluctuating water levels (waves and troughs)
- mobility
None of which are really relevant to sweep racing in an eight, however, I think much more applicable to what you are trying to do. And that leads me to think that the rigging of ocean rowing shells/boats are going to be significantly different due to the criteria used in building them.
So, my specific numbers or direction would not hold much water (bad choice of words in this case) for you but I might direct you into a few areas that might be able to assist. A simple search of the web led me to these sites:
If I was doing what you are doing I would first ask the builders for their suggestions in ranges, and then ask others who have gone before what they used.
Put some numbers on, give it a row—test it, and then make some adjustments. (The riggers are adjustable, right?)
Probably not much help, but an interesting problem to look at. Please keep us updated here with what is happening and with what you find. I will keep the readers updated.
All the best,
Mike
