rowing

Rowin’
I moderate a facebook page and yahoo group named open water rower. I sold a piantadosi drop in rig that I used in a 17 ft stowe canoe. i rowed the Wye Island Regatta using it, a little faster than using fixed seat. Slidingg seat is a really unpleasant way to propel a boat…unless its a dedicated shell and speed is the goal, or a heavy boat. Or if you lack uper body strength, it compensates. i can go on about the annoyances. Mostly adding another plane of motion ruins your view and perception. would you jump up and down when riding a bicycle? LOL. Im selling a Loudon Rowboat on Ebay now in MD for a freind. the finest two person rowboats ever, or a workout for a fit single.

Not to hijack the thread
… or change the topic (but hey, we do that here), but that reminds me of another thing that I personally don’t like about sliding seats. All that moving hardware is LOUD. On a really quiet morning, I can hear a pair of “fours” at a distance of more than a mile (more rowers per boat simply means it’s even louder). The first time I heard this sound early this spring, I’d completely forgotten about the rowing clubs, and I thought someone was walking a track-mounted backhoe for some great distance along one of the concrete streets on shore. I was rowing too, and in my quick glances over my shoulder I simply didn’t see a couple of little boats a mile ahead of me. I sure could hear them though (damn, I didn’t think they allowed backhoes to travel such a long distance on pavement!). Of course, this is something that is exclusively an urban, athletic endeavor, and it’s NOT a means for traveling or being part of nature, so the racket isn’t something the participants should think about.



Oh, glad to see I’m not the only one who realizes that a sliding seat accomplishes very little in a utilitarian type of boat.

Agree about the noise, most of which
is from the sculls and oarlocks at the catch. The sliding seat itself shouldn’t be noisy.



Sliding seat singles are for relatively open water. The boat is moving pretty fast, even when cruising, and stopping or turning to inspect water lilies is not easy to do. On the Charles River Basin, and up past Harvard toward Watertown, a single scull is a great way to see a lot of cars going by on both sides of the river.



But upstream on Lake Norumbega, a competition scull will be running up on all sorts of rec boats. Going on upstream in the narrow, twisty stuff between Weston and Newton, it wouldn’t be much fun at all. Even a fast sea kayak might not feel at home. A canoe works best.



Another thing. A competition single has to be dimensioned and adjusted very carefully to feel “right”. I can’t imagine being happy with any drop in rowing rig without extensive tinkering.



So I wouldn’t recommend sliding seat sculling except for those who want to cover open water quickly.

Location
So I am currently in Memphis TN (by our parents), but my brother and I are in college in NYC, and are based up there.



We really just want to do it for exercise, burn calories, and build muscle. Of course, enjoying the workout makes it all the better. I would prefer to have a rowing skiff, but I dont think we have the money for that.

I am also scared of getting a used boat, because we know nothing about boats and how to repair them. We’ve been canoeing and rafting plenty, but on vacation.



Anyone have a skiff in NY/ tri state area they want to sell?



And back to the original topic, is it a good or bad idea to just drop a rigging in a canoe/ kayak?



Or of course our problem could be solved if someone could answer this: Does rowing a canoe or kayak give you a similar or good full body workout as to a sliding seat rowing skiff?

For what it is worth
If you got into fast, (race training ) in a kayak you will not only get a aerobic workout, but a good body work out, and not just your upper body. You pump off the foot pegs as you take each stroke.

Believe me, you’ll feel it that evening. It is a well used but pleasant feeling in your calf muscles.



Jack L

You’re in NYC?
There are multiple rowing clubs.



Why not just join one of them and use the club boats?

Thanks, Frank. That led to interesting
stuff.

not the same workout

– Last Updated: Jun-27-13 1:41 AM EST –

No, paddling a kayak or canoe doesn't give you the same workout. My godson rows solo and crew and I've tried it myself. The effort is not the same and uses different muscle groups.

Not quite clear on what region you are paddling in. TN or NY? On the Albany NY Craigslist somebody is selling a Hurka solo shell that can also be used like a kayak (locking down the seat and using a double paddle instead of oars). You said $1200 is your price range and that is the price they have posted.

http://albany.craigslist.org/boa/3895792703.html

Aren't there rowing clubs in your areas? That's where most of the rowers get started around where I live.

I have heard of people installing oarlocks and a sliding seat in Old Town Guide 147 or 160 canoes. These are fairly common on the used market for under $500. I counted no less than 5 in the upstate NY area for sale now for under $400.



Oarlocks versus outriggers
You may be trying to say this correctly, but perhaps not, and it probably should be clarified. Yes, people often install oarlocks on various Old Town canoes, and Old Town even sells them. But those are gunwale-mounted oarlocks, and combining a sliding seat with regular gunwale-mounted oarlocks would be a huge mistake. The sliding seat amplifies your length of pull so much that only very long oars are suitable, and oars of that length must have the pivot point located quite far outside of the gunwales in order to have the handles positioned where you want them.



With standard gunwale-mounted oars, you can already exceed the amount of blade movement (in a semi-circular arc) that is efficient with just a minimum of arm movement. Using a sliding seat would just cause the swing of the oars to be much too long, directing the force during most of each swing in useless directions (in or out, rather than toward the rear).

correction noted
Thanks for the correction on that (oarlocks versus rowing frame). I was also chastised by a friend with far more experience with rowing craft than I have. Checking my source I did, indeed, confuse a description of modifying an OT Guide with the adaptation of an Adirondack guide boat.



I’m intrigued by that Hurka for sale up near Albany. Sent the link to my brother in Saratoga Springs (his son is a competitive rower just entering high school.)



To the OP – have you looked at sites that have used rowing craft for sale? There are some cheaper ones on this link if you are willing to make some repairs to them:



http://www.adirondackrowing.com/used%20boats.htm

Hurka is gone
Ah, too late. The Hurka was sold since yesterday.

There you go
That’s the right advice…

and nothing on impoundments?!

alden makes a poly shell
for $1700:



http://www.adirondackrowing.com/alden_horizon.htm

I think the oarlock to oarlock span on
my racing single was about 60 inches. Not many utilitarian or pleasure rowboats have gunwales that wide!



Wide outriggers and sliding seats, along with marked narrowing of the hulls, were the secrets of marked increases in racing speed of sculls and shells. That happened way back around the time of the civil war. There have been only relatively minor improvements since then. I’m not sure that I regard hatchet oar blades as an improvement, never having tried them.

Rowin
Sliding seat rowing isnt a magical workout. when I had a few different shells, after 20 minutes I would start to fatgue and lose some coordination. Catch oarblades, lose balance etc… seating discomfort. go to a gym an row a concept 2 rower for 30 minutes. Most likely you wont make it. Fixed seat rowing=mo betta, unless you are a dedicated athelete. Buy an ocean kayak and paddle for an hour, great, but not totally pleasant workout. trick is to find a fast canoe or kayak, something that is pleasant for hours on end, not to beat yourself up for 30 minutes.

Options
Used boats are always an option. Try local rowing clubs, craigslist, etc.



Other possibilities:

http://www.merrywherry.com/

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/rowboat-plans/annapolis-wherry-tandem-rowboat.html

http://www.boatdesigns.com/17-Sculling-Skiff-recreational-rowing-shell/products/184/

One more
There’s also the Pygmy offering for DIY:



http://www.pygmyboats.com/boats/wineglass-wherry-rowboat-kit.html


Rowin’
Just listed a canoe on ebay, show with a piantadosi scout rig sliding seat rig. Search my user name, njsurfboat, or Store canoe.

Got me looking
and you have to give these guys points for creativity. Should be cheap to get boards, not sure about the scull kit:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlEf0bYDhU4



I may just do this for fishing on lakes.



Rick