Keeping Your Rowing Fast When The Economy Slows

Downturn . . . Buyouts . . . Recession. Turn on the news and daily we are told in some manner or form that money is going to be tight—really tight. And whether you row by yourself in a single or on a team with 50 other people, rowing is the type of sport where money makes a difference.

I’ve written a two-part post about the mindset you might want to have as our economy struggles (Part 1 & Part 2). A few followup emails asked about specifics things that could be done—steps taken to keep a rower fast as the economy slows. Following are a few suggestions, and links to posts, you can do (and read) that just might help you keep things fast in a tough money time.

Suggestion #1: Know what you have

Knowing what you have is so much more important than knowing what you want. Have and want . . . two critical words when money is tight. Why? Because knowing what you have can make a big difference on getting what you want.

Last month I needed two coxbox microphones to replace two that had just broken at practice. We didn’t have any so I bought them from NK. I needed them in a hurry so I paid for the zip shipping.  Just last week I found exactly what I needed—two microphones—in a drawer in the boathouse. I spent money for shipping and my time to get something I needed, when I already had them.

Read more

Measuring the Work-Through in a Rowing Shell (Basic Rigging Video)

Work-through is a very interesting measurement, for two reasons. First, it helps determine the position of a rower’s hips in respect to the oarlock pin. Second, there are numerous ways to measure it.

The following video shows my way to measure the work-through of a rigger.

Hope you find it helpful.

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!

Where Should I Place My Footstretchers In My Rowing Shell?

I received this question the other day from Casandra.

Hi Mike: I am 2 seat in a lightweight women’s eight…but we have to row in a men’s boats. This is a really basic question; How do we determine where our foot stretchers should be positioned?

Thanks for the question Casandra. Let’s try a detailed view first, then a quick possible solution.

For Really Novice Rowers (Really novice)
For those rowers just starting out, placement of the footstretcher can be a great teaching tool. Often coaches will put the stretchers at a point where the rowers can use the track’s sternmost stops as a teaching device, so that they don’t over- or under-compress. The feet are placed so that the rowers will almost hit the stops just at the catch. If they go too far, wham, and they stop. For good or for bad, it does help teach.

For Rowers Looking For Comfort
In the past many rower’s calves really suffered greatly from the effect of either the seat track or boat deck digging into them at the end of each stroke. One method of relief was for the rower to move the footstretcher greatly stern-ward, to give the legs more room at the end of the stroke. More room, less digging into the calves. Newer shells with adjustable tracks usually don’t present this problem.

Rowers Looking For Speed
More experienced rowers, which it sounds like that might be you, are looking for something different. They are looking for speed. They want to place the stretchers in the correct position to maximize the energy that is put into the oar.

And it is important where they are placed. The reason being is that placement is about the distance the hip of the rower is located, at the catch, in reference to the pin. And the faster the boat, then the further through the pin (greater the distance that the hips are stern-ward).

Rowers looking for speed will tend to place their footstretchers according to either

1. shin angle to water’s surface
2. work through
3. catch length
4. catch angle

Each of those methods become more involved in terms of the mechanics of determining the correct placement of the stretchers.

Down and Dirty
So, with all that written, what should you do?

If you are sharing the boat with a men’s team, or any other group, then I would suggest that you place the footstretchers in a position where your shins are just shy of perpendicular to the water, at the catch. That might be about the best you can expect when sharing a boat, unless it is rigged specifically for you.

If you are not sharing the boat, it is just your team in it, then I suggest that the boat be rigged off of leverage numbers picked for your group. (You can find suggestions here.) From there use work through. Probably for lightweight women you may be looking at a range of 6 to 10 cms, as measured by the method on my numbers page.

Once you have set the feet, do some testing. Have a SpeedCoach? Great, test away. If not, then use a stop watch.

Adjust, test, readjust until satisfied.

(If you are interested in catch length and catch angle I cover those in my book, and the details are probably too lengthy for a blog post.)

Where Has Rowing Come From? Where Is It Going?

As coaches and rowers we spend tons of time focusing on where our rowing is going. We train, plan, and focus on the future.

And that usually works well.

However, one tool that might help is a perspective on where rowing has come from.

The past, as much as we like to ignore it, does often has a significant impact on the future.

Isn’t there a little bit of you that is interested in where rowing has come from? I have written humorously about the history of rowing but there is a resource that can really help you get an idea of where we, collectively as rowers, have been.

The Friends of Rowing History site is full of great photos, articles, results and stories of the olden, golden and not-so-golden days of rowing. Although mostly US-focused anyone interested in rowing history can find something intriguing.

Where we have been just might give us an idea of where we are going.

Worth a look.

Super-Simple Height Check for Your Shell’s Rigger

Recently Rob submitted this question:

Hi Mike,

I have a question regarding rigger heights. We are a men’s masters crew and as you would expect there is a wide variance in body shapes and sizes.

How would you set up the boat? Would you work on an average height or set up each individual rower?

For example our stoke is 6 ft 3 inches but the average height would be 5ft 10 inches. From my perspective I am 5 ft 9 with short legs and long body, so I sit quite high in the boat and find drawing up to my sternum at the finish difficult at times. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Rob, good question. Here is what I suggest:

I would certainly have rigger heights set per the person, when you get to the stage of knowing who rows where. Easiest (and best) way is to do a height check when you first launch. Following are those steps:

• Have bow 4 set boat
• Stern 4 go to finish position, blades square in water
• Make sure that the blades are buried as you want the finish to be set
• The outside arm should be parallel to the surface of the water. If the wrist is above the elbow, probably too high. If the wrist below elbow, probably too low.
• Then have stern 4 set, and check the bow 4
• Adjust riggers accordingly, and take a test row.

Yes this sounds super simple, and for the most part it is.

Measuring your riggers in the boat bay works well but it doesn’t account for the crew’s average weight not being the same as the average weight that the builder made the boat to carry. This simple Height Check accounts for that and has proven itself over the year.

Good luck, and Row Slow!

Measuring the Length and Inboard of an Oar (Basic Rigging Video)

This post is another in the Basic Rigging Video series of how to take basic measurements of a shell.

Knowing how long your oar is, and the length of your inboard, are two very important pieces of information that you need to have to rig your shell properly. Without that info you really put your rowing efficiency and effectiveness at risk.

As important as having the measurements is, knowing how to measure them correctly is just as important. Although simple to do, many people have difficulty with getting correct readings.

The short video below shows how I measure both oar length and inboard. The audio is a little low in spots. Still, I hope you find it helpful.

Have suggestions on ways to improve this, or your own way of measuring? Please share in the comment box below.

Are You Thinking About What Tomorrow Will Bring For Your Rowing?

A Sunday special post

photo by luismi1985

Coming back from a race yesterday, I got worried—really worried.

It wasn’t about the team or the race results.

Instead it was about something haunting. The future. Specifically, money for the future.

During the regatta, as I watched one of our races go by I struck up a conversation with a parent of one of my rowers. The theme of the conversation was how bleak the economy looks right now, and how discretionary money in people’s budgets are drying up.

We both wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Why is no one talking about this at our level? Read more

Product Review: Flip Mino Camcorder

One of the tools that I’ve been using for the past year is a camcorder made by Pure Digital. The specific model is the Flip Mino Camcorder.

I really enjoy the camera and have recently bought two more to use with our coaching staff. The following 5 minute video will give an indepth review, along with actually footage taken with the camera.

Below are links to the camcorder, tripod, and the Pelican box I showed in the video. A disclaimer, these are affiliate links, and we receive a small amount for each purchase made through these links. If you are thinking of buying any of these items we would greatly appreciate you purchasing through these links—the funds help support us to continue providing quality information. Thank you.

1. Flip Video Mino Series Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black)
2. Flip Tripod for Flip Ultra and Mino Camcorders
3. Pelican Micro Dry Case (1030) (Yellow)

Measuring The Spread In A Rowing Shell (Basic Rigging Video)

If I had to pick the one rigging number I feel is most important to a rower—in terms of the equipment—I would pick the spread.

To me the spread is the foundation that the house is built upon. If it is not correct then regardless of how well the house is built from that point up soon there will be problems, most likely major ones.

For you scullers out there who are getting ready to tune out this post I will say, “Read on!” Scullers need to know how to measure spread also. Although you use span (the distance from one pin to another) the only way to tell if the pins are equal distance from the centerline of the boat, and not skewed to one side or another, is to use spread.

The nice thing about spread is that it is also one of the easiest measurements to find. With a regular tape measure you can take your measurement in a matter of seconds, regardless of the position of the boat (guts-up or guts-down).

The following video will give you the lowdown, and here is a quick step-by-step procedure:

1. measure the width of the shell at the rigger position where you desire to measure the spread
2. divide that number by 2 (one reason the Metric systems rocks!)
3. take that number and place the tape on the gunwale at that mark on the tape
4. extend the tape out to the pin
5. find your spread mark where the pin intersects the tape

Give the short video a watch for some tips and to see it in action.

Questions? Leave a comment.

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Cheers!

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