Row BOC Blog

Whether you’ve been rowing for a day or a decade, knowing how to handle equipment on land is just as important as safety on the water. We were reminded about the importance of boat handling at the clinic last Thursday, when we lost the Vespoli skeg on the dock (and had to repair it over the weekend).

Lucky for us, the Vespoli was an easy fix. Since proper equipment handling is so important, though, and it’s never a bad idea to spend time on a refresher, I thought I’d go over the steps again here.

First of all, what are we carrying? Most programs work with 8+ shells, which are up to 60 feet long and weigh anywhere from 220-250 pounds. Each member of the 8+ hefts between 27.5-31 pounds. While that’s a lot of fiberglass, kevlar, and carbon fiber, these big boats are actually slightly lighter than the smaller craft.

The 4+ (like the ones at RowBOC) are about 43 feet long and weigh 120-140 pounds. That means that each rower should be prepared to carry anywhere from 30-35 pounds.

Racing singles (like the Curtis or Love) are 27-30 feet long and weigh (you guessed it) about 31 pounds.

Note: All rowers are expected to be able to handle their own equipment. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to lift 35 pounds, carry it on your shoulder, or press it over your head with your arms extended, please notify a RowBOC coach and arrange ahead of time to have a buddy who can carry that amount of weight for you.

The Australian club, Leichhardt Rowing Club,  has a good set of boat handling instructions. Keep in mind that they launch off of a floating pontoon dock and call starboard and port the “bowside” and “strokeside.”

The Peacock Rowing Center also has a basic checklist of things to remember as you’re heading out onto the water.

Cambridge men handling an 8+ from "Hear the Boat Sing"

The Los Angeles Rowing Club website also has a clear set of step-by-step set of instructions for how to handle boats and equipment. In LA, the crews use boat racks and launch from the water (instead of the dock like RowBOC does). You can find their full set of commands by clicking here. I’ve included a slightly modified version below.

Equipment handling commands
The caller will tell the crew what they will be doing next (e.g., “on my call, lift up to shoulders”), then when the caller decides that all are ready, they will say “Ready, and lift” — “Ready” tells the rowers that the next command is coming and then the brief command that follows, such as “lift”, signals the action. The purpose of this sequence is to synchronize the actions. This will move the shell in a controlled manner, distributing weight evenly and keeping it balanced.

The commands “weigh enough” indicates that whatever movement is happening should be halted right away.

Lifting the shell from slings:
1. Each rower should stand next to their assigned seat.
2. At “hands on,” each rower will put both hands on the gunnel and wait.
3. “On my call, up to waists,” “Ready, up” rowers lift the shell off the sling, all together.
4. Cox will move slings out of the way and will decide if the shell needs to be lifted higher, lowered or tilted to one side.
5.  ”Up to waists, ready up.” Rowers lift from waists to shoulders, holding onto the near-side gunnel with both hands and keeping the edge of the boat as close to their shoulders as possible.

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All of the clinic participants were heading to the dock on Thursday when I heard a splash behind me. I turned, and saw that two of our rowers (one novice and one experienced) were in the water. “What do we do?” they asked me.

Row2k.com has a good video answer (from the RocknRow-Marblehead Rowing Club Flip Clinic with Emily Greten), which I will explain below:

We all aim to stay dry when we go for a row, but capsizing in singles and doubles happens. And happens often. Even the most experienced rowers know what it’s like to suddenly find themselves swimming. (Fours and eights can also flip, but generally the more rowers you have, the less likely you are to capsize.)

There are many reasons why you might overturn; loosing your balance or an oar, catching a crab, colliding into something, or getting swamped can all put you in the river. (The last term is when your boat fills up with water from, for example, an extreme motorboat wake.)

There’s no reason to fear that you’ll end every experience on the river in the water, but you should be prepared for if and when you do capsize.

If you go over, the first thing to remember is not to panic. Stay with your boat. As the British Amateur Rowing Association points out on their website, a capsized boat is quite buoyant and makes a good raft. Hang onto the boat. If you’re in cold water, you can pull your body up on the hull. (Please note that our singles are fragile and some have soft tops, so pulling yourself onto the hull should be a measure of last resort, not the first thing you do.)

A boat is also more visible to rescuers. “Only leave your boat,” notes the BRA, “When you know you are safe or that staying with the boat will take you into greater danger or if the boat no longer remains an effective life raft.”

Usually, you can either get back in the boat in deep water, or tow it to shore (and then get back in), without too many problems.

The ARA explanation of a capsize drill is a good reference (keep in mind that it’s geared toward training coaches).  British Rowing also produces pamphlets such as this one on cold water immersion, which does quite a bit of hyperventilating about worse case scenarios, but has some useful information.

The best reference, though, is this capsize drill poster from the ARA and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (it has pictures!).

If you’re in the water and can’t get to shore, follow these basic steps:

1. Try and get the oars roughly parallel to the hull.
2. Push down on the nearest rigger while reaching over and  grabbing at the far rigger.
3. Pull the boat up and over so it is now the right way up.
4. Grab both handles with your right hand, bringing your oars to the center.*
5. Place your left hand between the tracks or on the first section of bow deck behind the seat  (our friends across the pond call this the “cockpit.” Of course they also use call the starboard side the “bowside”, so what do they know!).
6. Kick hard to get your body out of the water and onto the boat, facing the stern.
7. Sit up, keeping your feet in the water, still facing the stern.
8. Swing your feet in, slide up, and hop back onto your seat.

*When you’re getting back in, don’t let go of the oars! Ever, ever!

As for those clinic participants who went for a surprise dip? Well, one hopped back in the boat and held both pairs of oars while the other towed the bow of the boat to the dock. Both emerged from the river cheerful and injury-free, which is always what we aim for in rowing.