BY MARGOT ZALKIND AND MIKE DAVENPORT
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

You’re ready to launch, nervous and psyched, and the dockmaster says, “Sorry. Go back and get a bow ball.” You thought the wad of duct tape you attached to your boat would suffice. But it doesn’t.

What’s the big deal? (And does it matter even if you are not racing? Yes.)

If someone at the launch site is safety-smart and paying good attention, they will not let you launch unless you have heel ties at every seat (which we covered last issue), and a firmly attached bow ball on your boat.

Do you know why?

From USRowing’s 2021 Rules of Rowing:

“Every boat shall have a supple or plastic ball, of a white or fluorescent color, firmly attached and mounted on its bow, unless equivalent provision for visibility and protection against puncture injury is included in the boat’s basic construction. The bow ball shall be at least four centimeters in diameter.”

When did bow balls become a safety feature of most shells? Rowing historian Bill Miller writes:

“I began rowing in 1966, and they were used regularly then. They were actually rubber balls with a string of leather fed through and then screwed or tacked to the sides of the bowsprit. I think it was in the 1970s that a molded rubber attachment was manufactured and replaced the rubber ball.

“One incident happened on the Charles River, which was a very busy rowing highway in the 1970s, and even more so now. A sculler was rowing on the proper side of the river when a coxed-four on the wrong side plowed into him without a bow ball. The wooden prow penetrated his back, broke off and remained there. He was extracted from his single and rushed to Mass General Hospital, where the remains of the bow were removed. Luckily, it did not cause damage to his spine, but concern was infection from the dirty water. Antibiotics were prescribed, and a watchful eye kept to see if infection developed. Nothing developed, but his sculling was impossible for many weeks.

“Without a bow ball, severe body injury can occur, and dirty river water presents additional danger.”

Too often, we see boats with bow balls attached with duct tape, adhesive tape, or some glue. We’ve seen bow balls made of wadded-up tape and even newspaper.

News item, October 17, 2002

SCULLER HURT WHEN STRUCK ON CHARLES 

A Lexington sculler suffered serious injuries yesterday morning when the prow of an eight-man boat rammed into his side and hurled him into the Charles River in Watertown.

The rower, 55, apparently did not see the larger racing shell speeding toward him when, as he was passing another boat, it crossed the center of the river, according to State Police. The end of the larger boat penetrated deeply into the rower’s torso, witnesses said. The bumper (bow ball) on the prow of the eight-person shell was knocked off by the impact.

The initial contact between the vessels tore a rubber safety bumper from the larger boat, reports stated, and the sharp prow of the larger craft entered the left side of the patient’s lower back, above the iliac crest, and exited the central portion of his lower abdomen.

 He then slipped off the larger vessel’s prow and fell into the water. He did not lose consciousness and within five minutes was pulled from the water by the occupants of the larger boat and brought to shore. Emergency medical services were called.

Bottom line? Bow balls protect anyone and anything they might slam into. Make sure your boat has all the right safety equipment. 

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Let’s assume you’re buying a new single for yourself. You choose the size of the boat according to your weight. Of course, you pick a nice color, and also give your shoe size. Maybe you even select a certain seat top. But did you ever think about the fin size or its placement? Most of the time, you don’t have a choice, since boatbuilders usually offer only one type of fin, and the fin box is in a fixed position. What if you want to change things?

Before you do, think about the functions of the fin. Its main purpose becomes obvious as soon as it’s lost by hitting a submerged lo: The boat no longer goes straight. Since every boat rolls a little during the stroke, the submerged boat shape is, for parts of the stroke, no longer symmetrical, which tends to turn the boat. Once the boat is set to spin, it will continue to do so increasingly. 

The fin keeps the boat going in a set direction, absent any side forces. Small roll movements have no effect on the course of a boat with a fin. The boat tracks straight after completing a steering intervention, and the fin reduces the impact of side winds. 

The second function of the fin is to stabilize the boat; a deep fin helps balance it. 

All these functions are dependent on the fin’s area, height (vertical distance from hull to tip of fin), and placement along the boat’s longitudinal axis. The height and area of the fin determine its ability to keep the boat straight and influence its stability. Where the fin is placed affects its ability to turn the boat; the closer the fin to the stern, the harder to steer.

So what’s the optimal fin design and where best to put it? It depends on various factors—current, side wind, whether a course is straight or twisty.

Is a high fin best? Not necessarily. High fins tend to “sing” or vibrate from the turbulence at their tail edge, which generates a whistling sound that gets amplified by the boat’s hollow canvas. Not only is it annoying but also it slows the boat. To avoid vibrating, a high fin needs to be longer and thicker, which increases drag. 

If you want the boat mainly to go straight and be balanced, and more drag is acceptable, then a higher fin with considerable area is desirable. Ditto on a straight racecourse with loads of side wind. On a head-race course such as the Head of the Charles, however, as well as when training on a winding river, a smaller fin is best. 

 A fin needs to be able to shed weeds, which means its front edge should be rounded and smooth. It also has to be angled toward the stern. Caveat: A more triangular shape means increasing the height of the fin will also increase drag. Reason: the fin’s longer base.

The ideal? If your new boat came with several different fins that could be swapped out easily depending on conditions. There could be a “training fin” for occasions when drag is not an issue.  A “straight-race fin” that’s high and hydrodynamically maximized.  A smaller “head-race fin” that sheds weeds well. A larger “side-wind fin,” and so on. The fins would be simple to attach and remove and would break off in an accident without damaging the hull.

Next wish:  A fin box that would enable you to move the fin longitudinally toward the bow or stern. Better yet would be a mechanism that would allow you to move the fin horizontally from within the boat, so that you could position the fin optimally while sitting at the start and observing actual wind conditions. 

Since we’re dreaming, why couldn’t we move the fin while rowing, pulling it toward the bow as a turn approaches, pushing it toward the stern for a straightaway. Of course, this interchangeable fin-positioning box would not generate additional drag or add extra weight to the boat. 

 A big ask for boatbuilders, I realize, and of course it would increase the cost dramatically. So how about two fin boxes at different locations? You could choose the most desirable fin position for a given situation, and the unused fin would close nicely so that it wouldn’t drag.

STAFF REPORTS
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

The University of Texas’ women’s rowing program announced its schedule for the 2022-2023 season November 1.

The first regatta the crew will race in is the Waco Rowing Regatta November 6, marking the first time the program has competed in a fall event since 2018.

The spring lineup includes several scrimmages and duals, the 2023 San Diego Crew Classic, and hosting the Big 12 Conference Championship.

View the full schedule here.

BY OLIVIA COFFEY
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

I didn’t think I had the potential to try for a spot on the national team until the summer after my freshman year of college. In high school, I tried out for the junior national team, but didn’t make it, and though I had been in the first varsity boat for Radcliffe the entire spring, I didn’t really have the erg scores to indicate that I had a future in rowing beyond college. That all changed, however, after I attended the Freshman Camp, a development program hosted by USRowing, in the summer of 2008.

The Freshman Camp was held at Cornell University and intended for athletes who had potential but needed more development before trying for an under-23 team. The camp was about two weeks long, and most athletes lived, ate, and rowed out of the Cornell Boathouse. Fortunately, I lived close enough that I could drive back and forth to practice from home every day, so the experience felt a little like I was back at the YMCA day camps of my youth.

But it wasn’t all fun and games. I knew there would be an erg-test portion to the camp. I wasn’t always the most diligent when it came to training on my own and, since it had been a couple weeks since the end of the collegiate season, I dreaded the possibility of a 2K or a 6K. To my surprise, however, the test was only a minute long.

If you’ve never done a minute test before, it’s like all the emotions of a 2K wrapped up into a compact little package. You feel the free speed in the first few strokes, the buildup of lactate and burning lungs throughout the middle, and the desperation and need for damage control by the end. It’s surprisingly hard for such a short burst of effort, and you can feel the effects of it for days.

What the minute test can tell you that a lot of other tests can’t is the potential of an athlete who might have an underdeveloped cardiovascular system. In my experience, most athletes who produce strong power scores eventually notch 2K or 6K ergs that reflect that power, though the process can take years. As a college rower who hadn’t yet broken seven minutes on her 2K, I was really encouraged to see the excitement on the coaches’ faces after I finished my first one-minute test.

A lot of opportunities opened up for me after I attended that camp, and I owe it all to the minute test. If you’ve never done it before or are a coach looking for a new way to challenge your athletes, I recommend giving it a shot. Worst-case scenario: It hurts for only one minute.

The Workout

1 Minute – Maximum effort, no stroke-rate cap (set drag factor to 120).