Setting up a boat / checking settings

July 29, 2013 by ta 1 Comment

Oh, the joys of setting up a boat! Once you know how, and understand the variables, it’s easy to play around with. The measurements I provide here are quite a stock sort of standard, and a good basis for club boats, where they may be used by all sizes, strengths and abilities of rower.

What you will need:

• tape measure
• spanners
• adjustable shifter
• pitch gauge
• height metre
• permanent marker and tape

Setting up a boat:

1. Set foot stretchers as low as possible in the boat (to be done in conjunction with next step)
2. Set seat height to around 15-18cm (15cm for shorter people, 18-19cm for taller people). Measure lowest part of seat to bottom of stretcher
3. Set the distance from pin to pin (spread) 157 – 158cm (increasing this will increase hand height and make work easier) or the span of a sweep boat to 83.5-84cm (mid line of boat to pin)
4. Set desired height of swivel (16cm+ for sweep and stroke side of sculling; set sculling bow side 1.5cm higher than stroke side, up to about 18cm)

When checking heights using a height stick, place the section reaching to the gate in the mid to stern section of the gate. Then measure from the lowest section of the seat to the edge face that has rested on the gate (ie in this picture, the lower edge of the top beam, so in this example it is measuring approx 14cm (a bit low)).

5. Check pitch of swivel / gate (I like 4 degrees)

6. Check the inboard and outboard of the oar (inboard overlap of about 20cm). Measurements I use for smoothie blades include:

• Sweep: Oar length 374cm, inboard 114.5cm
• Sculling: Oar length 288, inboard 87-88cm

Span	Inboard	Overlap
158.5cm	88cm	17.5cm
158.5cm	87.5cm	16.5cm
158cm	88cm	18cm
158cm	87cm	16cm
157.5cm	88cm	18.5cm
157.5cm	87.5cm	17.5cm
157cm	88cm	19cm
157cm	87.5cm	18cm

7. Mark slide position behind work (for back wheel of seat):

• 58-60cm for shorter crew
• 62-63cm average crew
• 65cm for taller crew (big tall men can go to 67cm!)

8. On water:

• Sit at back chocks, blades feathered, hands dropped. Balance one blade on water. Clearance of other blade should be 50cm (25cm average for each blade)
• Stretcher position – shins should be vertical at front chocks
• Do hands hit you at back chocks or go past body?
• Mark stretcher positions

Of course this highlights the almost infinite extent of variables! If you adjust the inboard, you impact the gearing, length of the stroke and may need to adjust the stretcher position. To attempt to get get uniform length in a boat, a shorter or less flexible person may need a shorter inboard, and longer outboard (this equals gearing up, which may need to be compensated depending on the strength of the rower, as you may need a bit more strength to accommodate the higher gearing).