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.

One Trick To Keep Rowing Fast

I’ve spent the past 35 years in the pursuit of speed. Over those years a few common themes have popped up. In a nut shell four of those are:

1. Most people (rowers, coxswains, coaches) will work intensely hard to go fast
2. Speed (the art and science of going fast) is always a work in progress
3. There will be a price to pay for going, and trying to stay, F-A-S-T
4. Going F-A-S-T can be fun, really fun, but you have to work at the fun part. If you don’t do this one well, #3 becomes a huge factor

These may sound somewhat discouraging (not meant to be). However, as I sit here waiting to race my first heat at the NCAA Championships, those four themes keep coming to mind.

Number 4, working at the fun part, is probably the most difficult.

One trick I’ve learned to help find the fun is to row slow.

What I mean by that is to ever-so-often go out in a boat and row for pleasure. Take a spin, look for wildlife, throw a fishing line over the side (makes no difference at all if the only thing you catch is an old raincoat-which I’ve done), really check out that sunrise/set, play a trick on a sculler.

I’ve written about it, but friend Chris Partridge has written extensively and dedicated a whole site to this. Heck, viewing his site just might help you with the fun part.

There is an entire slow movement developing these days (Slow eating. Slow driving. Yes, even slow sex). Why are people interested? It seems the slow is helping some be fast.

Hmmm . . .

The Science of Speed

Two more articles that delve into the science behind the Olympics, speed, and winning:

• Advanced rigging gave British crews the edge
• The appliance of science

Both with a British slant, and both worth a read.

Is Catch Length Right For My Crew? (reader question)

Recently James, from New Zealand, submitted this question:

I am interested in finding out the best way to set a crew up in the boat. I have for a long time measured back from the line of work a set distance and had all the crew set their back axel to this – to help with different length of legs etc. But now I am reading more and more about the need for a large catch angle. So, what is the best way to set the archs so everyone is rowing the same? Should I set an angle at the catch, but will this mean different finish lengths? Set it at the back and coach the catch length? What effect does Cord Length have?

First, thanks James for your question. It is a good one, that certainly should be of interest to anyone who wants to generate maximum hull speed for their boat, regardless of sweep or sculling.

Second, it would probably help to define some of terms, to make sure that we are talking about the same things (as you know, terms in rowing can be rather, er, strange.) You can find more rowing terms here.

The catch angle is the angle of the oar, at the catch, to a perpendicular line that runs down the middle of the shell. Catch length is a simple way to measure the catch angle, and is often used to really describe the same thing, from a non-angular perspective. The arch, or arc that you mentioned describes the theoretical track that the oar makes through the water. (I say theoretical because the blade really doesn’t move more than a small distance through the water, unlike the butt of the oarhandle which does make an arc.

The last term, cord length, is one seldom used here in the US. Basically it is the distance from the end of one point of the arc to another. It is not relevant to outside arc (how the blade travels through the water—because it doesn’t). Instead it is more relevant to the inside arc—specifically the distance of the inside arc. You might find this post on Oarsport helpful.

Why Should You Care

For beginners coaches and Riggers (first and second Dimensional) this may all seem like hoopla. What difference does this make? A reasonable question. And a reasonable answer would be . . .”Speed.” It is all about speed.

Beginners, don’t worry about all the technically stuff here. It really boils down to this—where should I set my footstretchers? With that noted, zip to the end, and I’ll cover it there.

For you folks with more rigging under your belt, the reason you should care is still speed, but knowing how this works and all fits together will give you the tools to get more speed. The old ‘Teach a person to fish” saying applies here.

So how is all this information going to help you become a better Rigger? My rigging greatly improved when I realized most of the major adjustments I did when I rigged had an effect on the arcs. As soon as I grasped this concept, everything about rigging seemed to fall into place and I made the step from Second-Dimensional to Third-Dimensional Rigger.

Things Have Changed

There is not much change that has happened in rowing, or rigging, over the years but one place of some change has been track length. Used to be that rowers were concerned about running out of track, and hitting one or both ends. No more, in the last few years boat builders have been putting longer tracks into the boats, much longer than most rowers would ever use.
Another change I’ve noticed in the US is that the focus seems to be placed on the catch, and not as much on the finish. I know most of my peers rig to empahsize the catch, and the finish is a secondary thought. Don’t know if it is better or not, but that is what we seem to be doing.

So What Should I Do?

If the focus is all about speed what to do? I suggest:

• focus on the catch angle
• measure the catch angle by using catch length‚Äîor footstretcher placement
• pay attention to the inside arc
• pay no attention to the outside arc
• accept a compromise between catch length vs finish length

How Do You Measure Catch Length/Angle
In a future post I will show how to measure the catch length and angle. Or you can read about  it in my book, Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging. In the meantime, if you are looking for a solution, you can get number suggestions here. Then set your tracks. And then set your footstretchers so that the seat wheels almost touch the front stops at the catch.

I hope that this is a productive start. Readers, send your thoughts along for James.