sculling a sailboat

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Sculling sailboats?

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So, I've got a question, and an anecdote. I've heard stories of sailboats, even over 35 feet, being sculled into ports, without motor. Most of these stories come from either Bermuda or China, consequently (and seem dated). In fact, in China there is a saying "a scull equals 3 oars", though this is beside the point... Has anyone ever seen this done? I'm sure it's not easy, but it seems invaluable, especially if you're minus the iron jib. So basically my question is whether this is a practical thing to do for a moderate/heavy displacement 27 foot boat, full keel with cutaway for-foot, attached rudder, or any boat for that matter. That and I basically want to see what everyone thinks of this idea, because if you can still maneuver the boat it seems pretty ideal. Thanks.  

Yes, it can be done. But you need a fairly long oar to do it with and a set of thole pins or some other notch for the oar on the transom of the boat.  

A dockmate does it quite often, first time I offered him my dinghy engine and found out he does it for recreation, as Dog said he uses a very long oar and a couple thole pins. I'm not sure what his boat was when first built but it is now a 27' junk rigged ketch with a very large unstayed wooden mainmast. I swear that my description of this boat is accurate.  

I've sculled both of my boats with the rudder at various times. It is very slow but it works.  

There's a group of guys out in Bellingham WA call the Oar Club. They sail boats of all types (from a J30 to a Atkin double ender) sans engine and use sweeps and sculling oars for propulsion when there is no wind. The guy who started the group, Jerome Fitzgerald, wrote a great book called "The Purpose of Sailing" in which he details just how efficiently one can handle a boat with no engine. If you're interested in this stuff it's definitely a worthy read. Personally, I'm currently looking into a sculling or for my engineless Triton.  

redstripesailor said: There's a group of guys out in Bellingham WA call the Oar Club. . Click to expand...

Here is a article on sculling. Check it out : Sculling One  

When I was a teenager, our family spent summer vacations in an old farm house on Gwynn's Island, VA, on the Chesapeake Bay. We were adopted by a local waterman by the name of Fossie Smith. He taught me a lot about life on the Bay. One of the things he did was to take the time to teach me how to scull an 18' crab skiff. It's an absolutely Zen way to propel a small boat. You have to do it to understand that.  

Absolutely. Sadly not many of us have 18' crab boats. A mate of ours has an absolutely lovely 'peapod'. I've never sculled her but she is a joy to row. To get the most out of sculling (or rowing for that matter) something better than the average yacht tender is required. Its most unfortunate that for most of us these days our tenders are rubbish when it comes to rowing.  

Here is a link for the Pardey discussion: The Self-Sufficient Sailor - Google Book Search  

Twice now the stupid air pump that runs on dead dinosaurs quit. Both times, I was in the harbor with no wind. Stands to reason, that's the only place I'd run the engine anyway. Day before yesterday, there was not a breath of wind near the harbor, and the bucket of demented parts quit with me 600 feet from the slip. So I sculled home. Sculling involves moving the tiller back and forth like a fish moves a fin. You move it rapidly in one direction, then slowly in the opposite – just like you would move your arms while swimming under water. You change course by moving the tiller only from the center to the opposite side in which you desire to turn. I enjoyed moving along slowly, propelling myself with the tiller. It works, but it's slow. It took me over an hour to get to the mouth of the harbor. I'm not complaining. I believe this technique is possible on a boat having a wheel instead of a tiller – but considering most boats with wheels require more than a full revolution of the wheel to move the rudder through a full side-to-side deflection, the technique would rapidly exhaust anyone using it. Chalk up another advantage of tillers over wheels. So once I was in the harbor channel, all these boats passed me. While passing, one skipper asked: "Are you aground?" I said, no, I'm just sculling back to my slip. He looked at me as if I had grown two heads. A sailboat came along (under power) and asked if I needed a tow. I said: "No. Do you?" I then laughed and thanked him, and explained that I was moving along fine by sculling. He said: "Doing what?" I repeated my explanation. He said: "Don't you know that's impossible without a special mount for a long oar?" And I said: "Gee, I wish you'd told me that before I'd sculled my boat this far." I got it all the way into the harbor and into my slip. The same gentleman was standing on the neighboring dock watching me round the corner, turn 90 degrees right, line up with the slip, and propel my boat ever-so-slowly into its berth. He was all bug-eyed at my violation of the laws of physics. Good thing there weren't any physics cops to catch me. I sail a Pearson Ariel. It's 25 feet 7 inches overall, and 3,500 pounds gross. For sculling, I believe that size doesn't matter, but patience does. Your actual mileage may vary.  

patrickbryant said: Twice now the stupid air pump that runs on dead dinosaurs quit. Both times, I was in the harbor with no wind. Stands to reason, that's the only place I'd run the engine anyway. Day before yesterday, there was not a breath of wind near the harbor, and the bucket of demented parts quit with me 600 feet from the slip. So I sculled home. Sculling involves moving the tiller back and forth like a fish moves a fin. You move it rapidly in one direction, then slowly in the opposite - just like you would move your arms while swimming under water. You change course by moving the tiller only from the center to the opposite side in which you desire to turn. I enjoyed moving along slowly, propelling myself with the tiller. It works, but it's slow. It took me over an hour to get to the mouth of the harbor. I'm not complaining. I believe this technique is possible on a boat having a wheel instead of a tiller - but considering most boats with wheels require more than a full revolution of the wheel to move the rudder through a full side-to-side deflection, the technique would rapidly exhaust anyone using it. Chalk up another advantage of tillers over wheels. So once I was in the harbor channel, all these boats passed me. While passing, one skipper asked: "Are you aground?" I said, no, I'm just sculling back to my slip. He looked at me as if I had grown two heads. A sailboat came along (under power) and asked if I needed a tow. I said: "No. Do you?" I then laughed and thanked him, and explained that I was moving along fine by sculling. He said: "Doing what?" I repeated my explanation. He said: "Don't you know that's impossible without a special mount for a long oar?" And I said: "Gee, I wish you'd told me that before I'd sculled my boat this far." I got it all the way into the harbor and into my slip. The same gentleman was standing on the neighboring dock watching me round the corner, turn 90 degrees right, line up with the slip, and propel my boat ever-so-slowly into its berth. He was all bug-eyed at my violation of the laws of physics. Good thing there weren't any physics cops to catch me. I sail a Pearson Ariel. It's 25 feet 7 inches overall, and 3,500 pounds gross. For sculling, I believe that size doesn't matter, but patience does. Your actual mileage may vary. Click to expand...

Atom Voyages | Improvement Projects, Page 3 It's called a Yuloh in China.  

Of course, sculling with the rudder tends to be possible only in fairly benign conditions....any sort of contrary current or wind and you're toast.  

I've never sculled. I did row my previous two boats (20', one ton; 26', four tons) when necessary. Usually I just waited for a breeze. Rowing them wasn't hard, there was no point in trying to go fast, a steady stroke yielded half a knot. I made a long oar from a piece of spruce staging plank.  

I used to row my Folkboat, which did not have an engine. I had a single long sweep which had a loop of line that I tossed over a winch and rowed facing forward. Once up to speed it was pretty easy to keep moving. I would tie the helm slightly over and then varied the speed of my stroke to hold a course. I have tried sculling bigger boats on a number of occasions and its not that efficient without a properly shaped oar, and I found it hard on the wrists having to rotate the blade under load. I would not suggest sculling a boat with its rudder as a regular means of transport since it wears out the pindles and gudgeons or the rudder post prematurely. Jeff  

Another way to do it is to fix the rudder amidships and rool the boat from side to side. It works on racing dinghys  

I'll have to try that, but... only first in a very private setting. Given the amount of attention I got from other boaters by just moving the tiller back and forth to move along, I suspect that their seeing me running repeatedly back and forth across the deck from one beam to the other might get me locked up for psychiatric observation. I've found sculling with the rudder to also be a good way to rescue my boat when she's caught in irons - while keeping the sailing pure of noisy smelly beasts with propellers.  

I've sculled my 21 foot trailer sailer boat. On one trip I found I'd left the rudder home and used the scull oar as a repalcement. It worked. For my 29 ft Cal, I have 10 ft oars and can row it. They need to be at least that log to reach the water. I think the Pardeys just rowed with a single oar with thier first boat. worked fine and was a simple arrangement  

While it is a very neat way to move a boat about for short distances, it is incredibly tiring to move a big boat at any speed or for any real distance. As Jeff mentioned, it can be hard on the wrists. The real advantage to me is that you can see where you are going and you can fit in between docks barely wider than your boat. Personally, I prefer to row than to scull a boat. I can make the boat go much faster and it is much more pleasant. I leave sculling for the tight quarters maneuvering (be careful, some sculling setups make it hard to stop or go backwards while it is easy with others, it all depends on how much you can pivot the oar).  

Klem (or other rowers of smallish sailboats..) How do you set up the boat for rowing? I can't quite work out what you do for oar locks or where one would sit. Can you explain? I used to scull home all the time in my Beetle Cat... it had one of those huge barn door rudders. Chris  

How you set it up is really a function of the boat. The critical dimensions in it are the seat height, oarlock height, distance between oarlocks and oar length. Things like the fore and aft placement of the seat and oarlocks do matter but are not as important. Usually the first thing to figure out is where you can put oarlocks. If you have a cockpit coaming, it is usually an easy place to bolt on a set. I have also seen people who make a standoff block that bolts through the deck and has an oarlock on it. For boats that don't plan to row a lot, you can wrap a line around the oar and the jib winches (assuming you have them) and it works okay. Next, you need to figure out where you can sit. Usually a removable seat across the cockpit seats or on top of the centerboard trunk works best. If it isn't fastened down, this will allow you to play around with fore and aft position. The height is important and easiest to figure out sitting in the boat with the oars in the oarlocks. You want the oar handle to be somewhere around shoulder height with the blade just fully buried. If you always row in calm water, you can have it a bit lower but if you row in rough water, you need to keep it high so that the blades don't hit the waves on the recovery. I hope that this helps.  

Exactly.  

I have an engineless 8 ton 29ft gaffrigged cutter. I converted my 5 meter long sweep to a 6 meter long yuloh after learning it was better for my boat. It works like a charm. Anyone want to know the process, write me. It was a long research, but well worth it. Sweeps are good for lighter boats, and yulohs are better for heavier boats. Jeff H is right about it being hard on your wrists, after a few sessions, Popeye comes to mind. A well built and rigged yuloh is easy enough for a 15 year old to use. Engineless sailing requires a different mindset. The rules of nature make you take on a whole new perspective towards it.  

Here is a page on how to make the oar locks and rowing a bigger full keel boat A Pearson Ariel Page And here's one on making a yuloh for any boat $10 Yuloh - Cheap introduction to "scientific sculling."  

The 10usd page has pretty good info. I found that one when I made my yuloh. If you follow his advice, I'd add a sacrificial block with drilled out holes lashed to the pivot spot on the oar. If you don't, the hole in the oar will wear out, then you have to build a new oar. The sacrificial block is easier to replace. Cheers  

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Single Oar Sculling

This isn’t the sort of sculling done using two, ridiculously long, oars to ‘row’ a long skimpy scull.

This is the sort done with one oar, waggling it backwards and forwards over the transom.

Ok, there is more to it than just waggling the paddle.

The Oar or Paddle.

The technique..

• Making a Paddle

Yes, it does take a bit of practice but this is a skill well worth acquiring .

This is a handy way to propel a dinghy through a crowded anchorage, not only can you face forward to see where they're going but steering is easy.

It is also an efficient way to move a sailboat when the wind has dropped or any boat if the engine is playing up.

I first became intrigued with this method of propulsion when I saw large, heavy, traditional, French fishing boat being sculled out of the anchorage on Les Îles des Glénan.

When you are sculling you are exerting the propulsive power slowly and continuously making it easier to move large loads relatively easily.

If this is something you are thinking of doing with a light dinghy over short distances then a normal oar can be used quite adequately, preferably one which is at least two thirds the length of your boat.

However, there are several designs of paddle shaped especially for this technique which are easier and less tiring to use.

Perhaps the best known is the Chinese Yuloh.

Specialist sculling oars usually have longer shafts and longer blades than a rowing oar.

And more important they are angled so that virtually no wrist rotation is required.

The yuloh is usually made from two or three straight pieces set at an angle so the blade curves down into the water at an angle of about twenty five degrees.

The long blade should be shaped so that it is flat on the bottom and curved on top.

When used with the flat side down the oar reverses pitch easily at the end of each stroke.

The Chinese also attach a rope from the handle end down to the deck.

While this helps keep the oar from digging too deep, it is mainly used to help twist the oar and assist the sideways pull.

A deep oarlock will make sculling much easier for the novice as it will help overcome the beginner’s tendency to allow the oar to jump up out of the rowlock, some even use a captive rowlock or a rope tie-down.

If you watch an expert, sculling looks easy.

However there is a knack to it which requires patience and practice to get it right.

There are two basic methods;

• where you start off with the oar blade vertical in the water
• and where you start with it flat.

Both methods use the same basic principle.

The oar blade is swept back and forth across the stern with the leading edge always angled downwards.

For the beginner and anyone using a standard oar the first method is the easiest to master (which is why I do it this way).

This vertical or slalom stroke also makes it easier to steer the boat and there is less tendency for the oar to jump out of the rowlock.

With this method the lower edge of the oar blade always leads.

So start with the blade vertical then use your wrists to turn the oar blade then push it so that bottom edge is leading.

At the end of the stroke reverse the twist so that the bottom edge is facing the opposite way then begin the reverse stroke.

To begin with just use a small amount of twist until you become more adept at reversing the pitch at the end of the stroke.

As you get more confident begin to give the blade more twist so you get more forward momentum and less zigzag.

With practice, you'll find that you can steer by varying the pitch on alternate strokes.

The second method with the blade starting in the horizontal position is the one most commonly used with a specialist oar.

This is a much more powerful and efficient stroke.

The stroke begins with the flat side of the blade facing down.

It is then twisted and the lower of the edges is always the leading edge as you push from side to side.

With either method, the pitch of the blade must be changed as the direction of thrust is altered otherwise the oar will come out of the water.

With the Chinese yuloh, one hand holds the oar end at head eight while the other hand uses the lanyard to move it from side to side.

The yuloh’s lanyard also puts the required twist on the oar so little or no wrist action is required to put the pitch on the blade.

Sculling is not as fast as rowing, however it is a skill worth learning.

It is a handy way to thread your way through a crowded harbor or narrow creek.

And it is an easier way to move a heavy boat in an emergency.

All it takes is a little bit of practice.

Building a Sculling Paddle

This is how I recently built a quick, easy and rough sculling paddle.

The bend in the shaft at roughly 1/3 of the distance from the handle end and at roughly about 20 degrees from the blade.

The bend was created while laminating the outer strips to the central shaped piece.

Below is how the paddle is used.

It can also be used very easily one handed by just holding the handle.

It is an easier way to move a heavy boat in an emergency.

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Practical Boat Owner

• Digital edition

Sculling over the stern

• Ben Meakins
• April 14, 2015

How to scull over the stern: Learn to propel your dinghy using a traditional skill that's still relevant today

Ferrymen and watermen could once be seen piloting surprisingly big and heavily-laden craft across crowded harbours with a single oar worked over the transom, but these days it’s much less common.

You’ll still see sculling over the stern in use around our coasts, however, if you look in the right places. Fishermen can sometimes be seen sculling noiselessly out to their trawlers on early mornings, and Sea Scouts, old gaffer sailors and traditional village regattas do their best to keep the skill alive.

What is sculling? Single oar sculling is the art of propelling a boat with an oar over the stern. If you grew up reading Swallows and Amazons, you may remember Arthur Ransome’s evocative description: ‘In the stern of Swallow there was a half-circle cut out of the transom, like a small bite out of a slice of bread and butter. ‘There was room for an oar to lie loosely in it, so that the boat could be moved along by one oar worked from side to side, and this way and that, so that it always pushes against the water. ‘A lot of people do not know how to scull over the stern of a boat, but it is easy enough…’ The sculler, holding the oar with both hands, makes a figure-of-eight motion with his hands and arms and at the same time, by twisting the oar, causes the oar’s blade to emulate the motion of a fish tail or a ship’s propeller. A skilled sculler can make a boat travel very fast and move large loads. It’s a skill that most yachtsmen can master with a little practice, and can come in really useful. I learned to scull some years ago, but have never managed to master standing up and using both hands well enough to make it effortless. Time to talk to an expert. Glyn Foulkes, lifelong resident of the River Hamble and well-known local chandler, is the local sculling champion, having learned at an early age and won every sculling race at the annual Swanwick, Bursledon and Warsash Regatta since the early 1970s. Glyn could recently be seen at the regatta’s water carnival sculling a lighter with a half-sized London bus atop it!

Why scull? Why bother learning to scull? After all, what’s wrong with rowing with a pair of oars? Well, sometimes it’s simply not possible to row in the conventional manner. Sculling is a useful way of moving a loaded dinghy that’s too laden for you to use both oars. In a sailing dinghy it means you can make headway even if the boom is too low or furled sails prevent rowing. It’s handy for making headway up a channel that’s too narrow for a pair of oars, between moored boats, or in busy harbours where standing up and looking over your shoulder allows you to see where you’re going. It’s a useful ‘get you home’ skill in case you break an oar. And you can use the same technique to propel big boats too: all you need is a long enough oar, commonly known as a sweep. Try sculling and you’ll soon find that once mastered, it’s a traditional skill that is immensely satisfying.

How to Scull

The aim is to move the oar through the water in a figure-of-eight movement. You’ll need a sculling notch, or a rowlock fitted to the transom.

1. Start by placing the oar in the water with the blade vertical.

2. Move the oar to one side and twist your wrist so that the blade ends up at around 60° to the vertical.

3. Now move the oar across the boat, rotating your wrist so that the blade is twisted 60° to the other side. Repeat back and forth in a figure-of-eight movement.

To gain extra speed, give the blade a positive ‘flick’ at the end of each stroke to complete the twist: this gets maximum thrust from the blade. You should find that the movement of the oar, scything through the water, provides enough of a downward force to keep it in the notch.

One hand or two? It’s best to use two hands when sculling standing up. ‘Although you’ll keep both hands on the oar, don’t use both arms all the time,’ advises Glyn. ‘Instead, use one arm in turn to push the oar across the boat, to share the workload between your two arms’. When sitting you might find it easier to use just one hand.

1 With the oar blade at an angle of roughly 60° and your hand on top of the oar, pull towards you.

2 At the end of the stroke give the oar a slight flick with the wrist to twist it the other way.

3 With your hand now underneath the oar, push it back on the opposite stroke.

When standing you’ll need a longer oar than you’d normally use for rowing

Using a longer oar To scull standing up you’ll need a longer oar than you’d normally use for rowing. Ideally, you want the oar to reach shoulder height when the blade is submerged. Most dedicated sculling oars are flexible and long, with a thin and lengthy blade which allows the oar to twist and turn with minimum effort. Most rigid dinghies should be suitable boats for single-oar sculling: the bigger the boat, the more likely it is you’ll be able to stand up – and the longer the oar needed. If you master the technique but find the oar jumps out of the notch, or you’re struggling to make headway, it could be that your oar is too short.

A standard length rowing oar might suffice if you’re sitting down

Standing or sitting? Many people scull sitting down, either because their boat is not stable enough to stand, or because they’re more comfortable sitting. But as long as your boat allows it and you have a long enough oar, it’s much more efficient to stand up. ‘Standing up, you can use your whole body,’ said Glyn. ‘Sitting down, you’re relying on your arms, which is much less efficient.’ Another advantage of sculling standing up is that you can use your feet to keep the boat level. As you use each hand in turn, gently shift your weight on to the opposite foot. It might take some practice but you’ll soon be able to keep the boat on an even keel, which is much more efficient, wasting much less energy than if the boat is rolling around. But ultimately it’s down to the stability of the dinghy and the length of the oar whether or not you feel comfortable standing up. Some people find it easier to scull one-handed, and If you’re struggling to scull with both while sitting down, learn the movement with one and add the second hand once you’ve got the hang of it.

Turning corners Altering course while under way is easy – you simply work the blade to one side, with a shorter lateral movement, until the bow is pointing the right way. To make bigger course alterations, you just need to ‘row’ the stern around until the bow is pointing the right way.

Other uses An everyday use of sculling is when coming alongside in an inflatable dinghy. This works especially well with flat-bottomed, traditional Avon-style dinghies, which you can simply scull sideways using the normal rowlocks.

Sculling backwards… and the art of stopping

1 The notch in the boat’s transom won’t be used here. Instead use your neck and shoulder to support and pivot the oar’s handle.

2 With the blade at 45° to the transom, work the oar from side to side, ‘pulling’ the water towards you.

3 At the end of each stroke, rotate the oar so that the blade faces the other direction.

4 To alter course, simply favour the relevant side to pull the boat, transom first, 4 To alter course, simply favour the relevant side to pull the boat, transom first, that way

Product Reviews

The Scullmatix

Sculling's simple solution

From Issue   December 2015

S ometimes, when you want to slide quietly from one fishing spot to the next, work up a narrow guzzle, or maneuver through a tight mooring field, it’s nice to be able to put a single oar over the stern to move the boat by sculling. The technique also comes in handy when you want to move your dinghy without getting your seat wet from the morning dew or simply do some salty stylin’ in front of a crowd of dock dwellers.

Learning how to scull takes some practice, but with the Scullmatix, a device that automatically produces the right angling of the blade, you can get your boat moving straightaway and without instruction. The Scullmatix provides benefits even for skilled scullers: It doesn’t strain your wrist, it allows you to stand in the best spot to trim the boat, and it converts one of your boat’s oars into a long, take-apart sculling oar.

The Scullmatix is made of 1/8″ stainless steel plate and secured withe a pair of stainless 5/16″ bolts and wingnuts. Resting in the boat here, it’s shown upside down.

To use the Scullmatix, clamp an oar in one side with its blade perpendicular to the device and a handle in the other. It’s sized to fit an oar with a diameter of 1¾″ and a handle with a diameter of 1½″ and a length of around 40″. The handle, situated below the oar, automatically twists the blade; you simply pull and push the handle back and forth.

I’ve been sculling for years, so I was curious to see how well the device would work and tried it on several boats. My narrow-bottomed Swampscott dory, TIPSY, was not ideal. A 7½′ oar I had kicking around was too short, even with a 48″ handle; an 8-footer, one of the dory’s regular oars, worked a little better, but I still had to stand too close to the stern. When I clamped the Scullmatix onto my 10′ sculling oar, I could sit on the after thwart; I had a good time sculling for a good half mile at 1.5 to 2 knots. The 10-footer has a 4′ blade that induces a slow and sustainable rhythm; the smaller blades meant for rowing wanted a higher “wag” rate.

The author’s double ender has a short outrigger for an oarlock for sculling. It needed to be slightly elevated for the Scullmatix to keep the handle from making contact with the outrigger.

With RAN TAN, my double-ended 17′ Tony Dias–designed Harrier, I have an outrigger for sculling. With the 7½′ oar in the Scullmatix, it didn’t feel like I had enough blade in the water. The 8-footer made a difference by immersing more blade area. But what was really nice was using my 10′ sculling oar. I could put my body weight into the stroke in a nice rhythm. The boat is a little light and narrow, and it rolled when sculled hard, so the big oar would have been better with a heavier or beamier boat.

I also tried sculling an 18′ Lund outboard skiff on a windy day, using an improvised oarlock socket on a bit of wood clamped to the transom. With my 10-footer in the Scullmatix I was able, much to my surprise, to make good progress into the wind. With a wide, steady platform offered by the wide stern, there was no problem with boat trim or rocking.

The Scullmatix is designed for use with an oarlock rather than a transom notch. The flange in the middle of the device is meant to bear upon the metal lock; it will chew up wood around a notch. The oarlock socket should be oriented athwartships, and whatever the oarlock is mounted on should be relatively narrow so that neither the oar nor the Scullmatix makes contact with it.

The Scullmatix is nicely made of heavy-gauge stainless steel, and the clamping surface is long and smooth enough so that even a soft spruce oar isn’t damaged by it. The unit has wing nuts to tighten it, and securing it requires pliers or a wrench as recommended in the instructions.

The action is indeed automatic. You won’t need to grip the handle firmly to maintain pitch, or to reverse your angle on every stroke. You can push it back and forth and grip the handle only during the pull stroke; your hand can be loose, and even open, as you push. This definitely helps prevent cramping and other wrist and forearm problems. I had no trouble sculling RAN TAN a couple of miles at close to 2 knots in smooth water with little wind.

The biggest challenge is making sharp turns. With a regular sculling oar you flatten your pitch on one stroke and use plenty on the other to turn sharply. With the Scullmatix it seems almost impossible to move the oar with no pitch. Instead, I would alternate a power stroke and almost a coasting stroke to turn. With more practice I’d expect to improve.

Ben Fuller , curator of the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine, has been messing about in small boats for a very long time. He is owned by a dozen or more boats ranging from an International Canoe to a faering.

The Scullmatix is available from Duckworks Boatbuilders Supply for $37.50.

Is there a product that might be useful for boatbuilding, cruising or shore-side camping that you’d like us to review? Please email your suggestions.

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The art of sculling, technique and implementation to scull well

Sculling is a gentle and efficient means of propulsion that requires a certain know-how. Let's discover together what sculling is and how to use it.

Presentation of the scull

The scull is an oar placed at the back of a boat and which makes it possible to move and direct it. It differs from oars, which are placed on either side of the boat and are used in pairs, and from the paddle , which is a single or double oar used in canoes or kayaks.

The scull is therefore also called the oar (sculling), as opposed to the oar, which is used for swimming (rowing). It is composed of several parts detailed below:

The shovel (1) it is usually symmetrical and mostly diamond shaped. The new asymmetrical models with different shapes are more dedicated to competition.

The snare (7) this is the delicate and potentially fragile part. It provides the connection between the shovel and the barrel, and should be kept as thick as possible.

The barrel or the arm (2) it is the part that rubs on the lady, the tolets or the stern sail . It is the part to be protected by a fur against scratching.

The handle (5): This is the top part that is in the boat . The bigger it is, the better the scull balances

The handle (4) the diameter of the handle depends on the "fist" of the user, but it should not be rough or painted for a good grip. New models with a double handle allow to improve both the gesture and the learning process.

Portage (6) Trim

The practice

Sculling also refers to the action of sculling, i.e. the technique used with the oar to move the boat forward and to steer it. We say "to go to the scull", which means "to scull with a scull"!

The boat that can receive a scull can be of several types and names, but must always have a transom that allows the scull to be placed. The size of the boat depends on what the user is able to move with the scull.

This practice is inspired by an archaic movement that consists of stirring water to move a boat forward. It is used for short distances and in relatively calm waters. It is an oar that allows the propulsion and direction of a boat through a helical movement.

Technique and implementation of the scull

The sculler stands facing the back of the boat and places the oar at shoulder height. Thus the lateral movement of the hands causes another lateral movement of the scoop. The rotation of the hands on the handle allows the oar's blade to have a tilt.

There are two different techniques: horizontal and vertical. The second one being considered less efficient, here is the implementation of the second one. In this technique, it is a question of carrying out a back and forth movement close to a horizontal "8".

At the first movement, the scoop, which is on the starboard side, is tilted to port. Thus, it pushes a certain mass of water as much as it creates lift, when the scoop moves the handle sideways to starboard.

When the run is complete, the scoop, now on the port side, is tilted to starboard by a wrist movement, and the sculler moves the stick sideways again, this time to port. This repetition of movement moves the boat forward.

Forces and hydrodynamics

For propulsion to occur, the sculling motion relies on the water, which causes two forces, lift and drag. The first force is a suction and a push on both sides of the shovel. The latter must be greater than the drag.

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Sculling Oars (yuloh)

• Thread starter Perry Solheim
• Start date Jul 4, 2016
• Tags sculling oar yuloh
• Forums for All Owners
• Ask All Sailors

Perry Solheim

Anyone build/install a sculling oar (yuloh, actually) on their full keel boat? Worth it? (I'm a woodworker, among my many hobbies and have a large well equipped shop, except for a lathe that I could use to build a wooden oar with...). I'm looking for tips on where to locate the oar lock (can't be close to center because of the tiller and rudder, but my IF is also very narrow so if I get too far to the starboard, I run the risk of banging the life line stanchions...) If you use one, how far do you tend to move the oar back and forth? How much space should I allow? Also, does the line that attaches to the deck need to be directly below the center of the oar, in line with the oar lock? Thanks for the help. I'm excited to be in the forum and actually have a boat to ask real questions about.  

I don't have your answers, Perry, but I'm also interested in a yuloh as back-up propulsion for my little catboat. I too have the woodworking skills and shop to easily build one. Looking forward to having someone with some practical experience chime in.  

Scott T-Bird

I think you'll find lots of experience and help with diesel mechanics but not so much with a sculling oar! But you never know ... give it some time!  

Scott T-Bird said: I think you'll find lots of experience and help with diesel mechanics but not so much with a sculling oar! But you never know ... give it some time! Click to expand

Ukeluthier said: P Problem is, diesel mechanics generally aren't aboard when the auxiliary quits on a windless Chesapeake day. I'm pretty good with a wrench myself and keep my auxiliary well-maintained, but I'm a self-reliant "belt-and-suspenders" man who thinks a low-tech back-up makes sense for a smallish boat. I keep a canoe paddle in one of the cockpit lockers, but that doesn't cut it for any significant distance. I suspect there are a few more of us Luddites out there. Click to expand

My experience using a single sculling oar dates back to about 1973-75 when I taught Rowing Merit Badge at a BSA camp in northern Wis. However that was on a 16 foot rowboat. You will want the oar lock mounted off center but on a rowboat that was primarily for balance, on our boat probably enough to clear the rudder and tiller is fine. Your range of motion is probably limited to an arm length plus a little more if you lean into it. Not sure what you mean by the line that attaches to the deck? Our sculling oar lock was a U shape and the oar had a leather wrap about 8 inches with a leather collar that helped keep the oar from slipping down the oar lock. I have also seen some type of loop on the oar that fit over a post on the stern rather than using an oar lock. I did a quick google search (images) and saw a variety of ways to hold the oar in place. One pix of a ~25 foot sailboat looked like the captain was using a small telephone pole. There is also some YouTube videos of folks facing aft and working the heck out of the oar with both hands. The proper position is feet planted firmly on the deck, facing the side with the forward foot pointing somewhat in the direction of travel. Your aft hand working the oar and the forward hand holding your favorite adult beverage. Don’t forget to send pictures of the oar and a video of you gliding effortlessly through an anchorage.  

brazenarticle

check out this article for some info on making and using a yuloh http://triloboats.blogspot.com/2012/04/windless-running-on-grits.html  

brazenarticle said: check out this article for some info on making and using a yuloh http://triloboats.blogspot.com/2012/04/windless-running-on-grits.html Click to expand

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Look behind you! Learning to steer a sculling boat

As Small Person in Residence at my rowing club, I feel I have to add value wherever I can, to make up for my lack of heft. So it was only a matter of time before I felt obliged to do my bit steering a quad. For those of you baffled by how this all works, a quick run-down. Most sculling boats (the ones with two oars each instead of one) and some sweep boats (one oar each) don’t have a cox to steer them. The advantage is they’re faster. The disadvantage is that someone in the crew has to take responsibility for steering the boat. Whilst rowing hard and accurately. Backwards. Without unduly unbalancing the boat, hitting anything, mistaking a canoeist for a swan or a buoy for a … crash!

If you look over one shoulder the bank looks unnervingly close.

If you look over the other, you feel like you’re veering out into the middle.

And all the while you have to keep an eye on the footplate to make sure you haven’t absent-mindedly moved your foot out of place (the steering plate is attached to your right foot).

I’ll be the first to admit I’m still getting the hang of steering. I can’t deny that it does funny things to my technique, and even funnier things to my face. Here, for example, is my steering-hard-to-the-right face. Attractive, huh?

And I can’t deny that we tend to take the scenic route more than the direct one. I’m still learning not to over-steer, but it’s a work in progress.

All of which makes it kind of terrifying that this weekend I’m steering a quad in my first ever sculling race, on a course with both a bridge AND a bend. What could possibly go wrong?

So wish me luck, friends. I’ve told my shipmates that my race plan is, “Don’t crash and don’t get disqualified” and that’s it. But if you have any tips to help me along, I’d be ever so grateful. I’ll report back next week, hopefully not from a hospital bed.

PS My all-in-one is the Nicky by Queen B Athletics . Fab, isn’t it?!

9 comments on “ Look behind you! Learning to steer a sculling boat ”

Don’t be afraid to ask your crew for assistance. It’s often much more positive and the boat runs tends to run flatter than just using the rudder “More on bow/stroke side” means continue to pull it round that side until you shout “Even!” I confess I have very occasionally got the call wrong: “More on bow side!!!” “REALLY?!!” “OTHER bow side…” ??? But a good steerer is like gold-dust and can guarantee a seat in a boat when other attributes are not quite up to snuff!

Good advice! We’ve agreed on “right and left” because the chances of both me and them getting our bows and strokes right at the same time are limited in the excitement of a race! And yes, it does get you places in boats!!

If the foot thing isn’t working for you just call “hard on _ for _”. It’s my club’s standard way of steering and we haven’t hit anything yet….. You’ll do great!

Yes, I may well have to use that (if I have any breath to call it!)

Good luck — you will do just fine!

Tips? (1) Look over your shoulder every five strokes, alternating sides, unless there is some imminent situation that needs more frequent glances. Every three strokes if you are nervous, but that will be more frequent than you need. (2) Remember your job in that race is primarily to guide the boat and keep everyone safe and the boat on the course; let the other three row their hardest, you hold back a bit — don’t row so hard that you can’t watch out or hold the toe straight. (3) Plan ahead and reduce your instructions to one or two word commands that your team mates understand; you will not have the breath for full sentences. It isn’t like coxing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you – this is amazing advice. I’ve had salty old sea dogs telling me once every five strokes is way too much, but frankly I’d rather be safe than sorry (and last night when I tried more than that I had a near miss with a pair!)

Don’t forget that there’ll be a BRO just waiting to shout at you if you go too far off-course (I speak from personal experience! 🙂 )so don’t stress.

Hi GOTR, I’ve rowed pairs and now steer a quad, when pairs rowing I always looked over my shoulder, you do it when the blade is in the water so as not to mess with the set too much. Singles and the quad until recently I’ve always looked over my shoulder, same thing do it when the blades are in the water. over the years I’ve tried to use a mirror, try the cyclist type that clips to a cap brim. It takes some getting used to and until recently I never did but it turns out I was using doing it wrong (using a mirror wrong haha), I was trying to position the mirror to my focal length, some sage advice from someone that knows more than me explained how it’s done.

You have the mirror close-ish to you eye, maybe 100mm/ 150mm and leave it there. At first it’s useless but as time goes by you can glance in it and your brain starts to work out the thing. I still look over my shoulder but on straight bits with no bridges relay a bit more on the mirror.

Once word of caution though, depth perception, there is none, so if you do see a dodgy object in the mirror it’s good to take a look.

Thank you – need all the advice I can get! I fear a mirror might really confuse me, though. The fact that everything’s the wrong way round might completely scramble my poor brain!!

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Everything You Need to Know About Sculling Oars

by Angus Rowboats 8 Comments

There’s plenty of information outlining the benefits of a sliding seat rowing system for recreation, but there is very little information about the oars required.  For newcomers to the sport, it can be confusing figuring out what is needed. We decided it was time to write a comprehensive page outlining everything you need to know about sculling oars.

Oar Feathering

Unlike fixed seat rowing, it is important that sculling oars are feathered (turned horizontal to the water) on the return stroke.  This is not just for decreasing wind resistance, but it reduces the chance of the blades catching the water, since there is generally less clearance than with a fixed seat system.

Having the flat edge of the shaft abutting the flat edge of the oarlock not only provides a stable defined angle, but it also helps distribute the pressure across the shaft.  A round oar shaft (only used in fixed seat rowing) generally has a very small contact point with the oarlock which increases the chances of it breaking and causing excessive wear.  As you can see in the image (right) of a typical fixed seat oarlock system, the contact point between the shaft and oarlock is minimal, and blade angle is ambiguous with regards to shaft orientation in oarlock.

Oar Sleeves and Buttons

With the advent of carbon fiber and fiberglass oars, it was easier and stronger to manufacture oars with round shafts.  This meant that at the location of the oarlock, is was necessary to install a sleeve (see image to right) that replicates the shape of traditional oar shaft for proper action in the oarlock.

Properly designed and shaped wooden sculling oars do not require sleeves since the oar shaft is already the correct shape for ideal feathering action.   

Hollow Shaft Wooden Oars

An alternative to expensive carbon/fiberglass oars is constructing your own wooden sculling oars.  These should not be confused with regular wooden oars, as there is a world of difference in weight, shape and specs.  The shaft should be hollow to reduce weight, and it should not be round.  Sculling oars are made from lightweight strong woods such as spruce. Generally, construction costs range from $50-$200. We sell plans in our online store for hollow shaft oars.  Click here for more information. There are also a few manufacturers in the U.K. that produce completed wooden oars, however, costs, including shipping to North America are over $1000/pair.

Two-Part Oars

 Sculling oars are approximately 9.5' in length.  While this is ideal for rowing, they immediately become unwieldy for transporting or storing.  A solution for this is to use two-part oars that break in half with a ferrule.  Advanced manufacturing techniques now allow this option with minimum weight penalty.  If the budget allows, two part oars will make life much easier on and off the water.

Where to Purchase Sculling Oars?

There are a number of companies in North America (including our own) offering good quality sculling oars, and we list them below.  When comparing pricing, be sure to include shipping costs, as one-part oars are subject to extreme oversize penalties.  

One-Part Sculling Oars:

• Chesapeake Light Craft

Two-Part Sculling Oars

• Red Beard Sailing
• Angus Rowboats (our company)

Rowing Geometry

For information on positioning of the oarlocks, sliding seat, foot braces, etc, please visit our rowing geometry page .

Angus Rowboats

8 responses.

July 04, 2018

Having built the Oxford Wherry, I am looking for a set of Sculling oars. The length required is 9’ 6”. If anyone has a used set please send me a note. Ideally a Concept2 set would be preferred.

Paul Correll

October 28, 2016

Please let me know where to purchase buttons for the leather wrapped hollow oars that we have constructed from your design. Thanks, Paul

Your entire story and website are fantastic and very inspiring. I keep going back to the build gallery, your oars are beautiful. I built 2 pair of oars and I was pretty proud of them but now after seeing yours its time for an evolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDjFy8z08U Thank you My oars do work and got me on the water and hopefully have inspired some backyard builders to go for it. Thanks again

We will have buttons available in our online store next month.

Ideally, you’ll be using clear sitka spruce in ten foot lengths. Good pine can also be used. Heavier woods such as fir are good for strength, but will make the oar heavier.

I’m interested in both your sliding seat and rigger system and the wooden oars. Can you tell me what wood I’ll need (type and dimensions) to build these? If the wood is not available locally (Ohio), can you recommend an internet soruce?

@ Bob Cramer – if you still have those wood oars I would be interested in them. Please email me: [email protected]

Thanks, Guy S.

I have a pair of new 9’6" Piantedosi sculling oars for sale. Not sure what they are worth – will sell for best offer.

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Getting Started On Water: Buying a Single and Sculls

Many athletes are looking to row in a single  as they consider ways to stay socially distant and also stay fit. There’s a lot to consider as you make this new purchase. Here are a few tips based on my personal experience.

Rowing Experience

Whether you’ve spent time in team rowing boats, kayaks and canoes, or have never spent time in small boats, you’ll want to consider both safety and your comfort level in a personal rowing shell.

Carbon fiber racing shells are long, skinny, fast, tippy and expensive. They are technical to row and often unforgiving. Sweep rowing skills do not necessarily translate to the single scull: give yourself some opportunity to grow into these skills. Unless you’ve had considerable experience alone in a long narrow rowing shell, you’ll likely want to consider designs that are a bit wider or created for open water. There are many options, from plastic shells to Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUP) with an added rigging unit . Consider that your first rowing shell may not be your last as your skills and confidence grow.

Once you purchase a boat, I recommend practicing self-rescuing yourself in case you do fall out. Whether you’re experienced or not, each boat can feel different in how it capsizes and how easy it is to re-enter. Find a safe place to practice this so you’re familiar, confident and comfortable with your shell.

Where You Can Row

Finding great water can be part of the challenge with a new boat. While the single gives ultimate flexibility to row on your own schedule, you’ll want to find a safe and accessible stretch of water. Consider your options for launching: will you need to launch directly from shore? If so, is the boat big enough that can you bring along everything you need? If there are docks, are they low enough for the sculls’ riggers? Do you have access to a rowing club? If you car top, is the boat easy enough to lift and carry by yourself?

Boats made specifically for open water can be more flexible in terms of providing access to lakes and the ocean. If the body of water presents many challenges (such as frequent debris) give thought to the boat's durability and how it would need to be fixed, if necessary. If you’re rowing in salt water, you’ll want to take special consideration with cleaning and taking care of your equipment .

I row on a river with little current; for rowing on “the big lake” (Lake Champlain), I use a wider boat that self-bails so that it won’t take on water on choppy waves or in high winds. This rowing shell also has more room to store safety gear.

Hull Design

One of the best ways to see if a boat is right for you is to “test drive” it, if possible.

For the right fit, you’ll want to be sure you match the boat’s design in terms of weight range. This ensures that the boat sits properly at the waterline so you don’t “bob like a cork” or sit too low in the water, where it will be difficult to rig and unsafe in rough water. Most rigging systems will allow you to personalize your set-up, but you’ll want to be sure you’re in the basic ranges that the rigging allows for.

Hull shape is a tradeoff between stability and resistance (both water and wind) on the hull. Designs can vary: some are shaped more like bananas and others may have straight lines. The hulls can be curvaceous or flat. These design differences may be subtle to the untrained eye but influence how the boat rows and turns, and how responsive it is to your efforts.

There are basically three lengths of single shells: 20 feet, 24 feet and 26-28 feet. The longest boats tend to have a smaller beam (the width to the boat), which results in less stability. I recommend you match a boat to your current abilities. You’ll want to row a boat that you can be comfortable enough in to use as a platform to improve your abilities and confidence with sculling.

Without a test row, you can research how different boat manufacturers build in different styles. Ask other athletes, coaches, and the boat builders themselves to describe how their boats move in the water. Not all boats are equal in terms of speed and comfort. You’ll want to row a boat that “meets you where you are” in terms of abilities and goals.

Prices vary widely for used and new shells; you can expect to pay anything from $1500-$15,000. In addition to the shell itself, you’ll want to consider any necessary accessories (roof rack, boat rack, slings, on-board computer, shoes) and oars.

Concept2 is happy to help with your oar-related questions. We can find the right sculls to fit your experience, boat and goals. Many athletes find success with the durable, affordable design of the Bantam , which is a popular choice for a range of athletes including juniors and masters.

If you purchase used oars, inspect them for damage, including soft spots. New grips, new sleeves, and other updates can be installed at home. Call us and we’re happy to provide you with options.

New or Used

Boat manufacturers can help you find your best fit into a new shell. Purchasing new allows you to personalize your shell: find the best boat for your skills, abilities and preferences.

Used boats are bought and sold on classified ads such as Craig’s List and row2k.com . You can also check with your local boathouse or rowing team.

When purchasing a used shell, you’ll want to examine the boat’s structure, not just the hull. Do you see a bend in the keel if you pick up the boat from one end? That may indicate the materials have softened over time. (A strong boat will have a rigid structure.) Also check to make sure the footstretcher and rigger are firmly connected to the boat. Look over the oarlocks, seat wheels and track, and shoes. Be prepared to spend money on these wearing parts over time.

For those looking for an extra challenge, rowing boat plans and kits are available for a build-your-own project. My father built the Oxford Shell II (shown in the photo above). It is a beautiful wooden boat that suits a wide range of athletes: it’s easy to row, fits most adults, and lightweight for transport.

Whatever way you find yourself headed to the water this year, be safe and have fun!

Tags: Oars , On-Water Rowing

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What is Sculling and why do we love it?

So what is sculling? We know rowing is a sport that many people enjoy, but did you know there are different techniques you can use? In this article, we will discuss Sculling. What it is and how do you do it? And who are some famous rowers who were amazing scullers? We’ll answer all of those questions and more! So, if you’re interested in learning more about this particular rowing technique, keep reading!

Table of Contents

What is Sculling

Sculling is a rowing technique that uses oars to propel a boat forward. Unlike traditional rowing, which uses oars that are attached to the boat, sculling uses oars that are held in the hands. This allows for greater control and mobility, making it perfect for small boats. Sculling is also a great workout, as it uses all of the major muscle groups.

In addition, because sculling involves constant movement, it can be an excellent way to improve cardiovascular health. Whether you’re looking for a new challenge or a new way to stay fit, sculling is definitely worth trying.

The History of Sculling

Sculling is a popular rowing technique that has been used for centuries. The first recorded use of sculling dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was used to propel boats along the Nile River. Can you imagine rowing in that heat? Sculling quickly became popular in other parts of the world, and by the Middle Ages, it was being used in Europe to move barges and other large vessels.

In the 18th century, sculling began to be used for recreation and competition, and it remains a popular sport today. Thanks to its simple equipment and easy-to-learn technique, sculling is enjoyed by rowers of all ages and abilities. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing way to enjoy a sunny day or a challenging workout, sculling is an activity that is sure to provide hours of enjoyment.

Famous Scullers

There have been many famous scullers throughout history, including Sir Steve Redgrave, who won five Olympic gold medals in sculling between 1984 and 2000. another well-known sculler is Sir Matthew Pinsent , who also won four Olympic gold medals in sculling between 1992 and 2004. More recently, Andrew Triggs Hodge, who rowed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, became the first ever person to win an Olympic gold medal in sculling.

Why We Feel Sore After Rowing: DOMS and How Best to Look After Our Bodies

What is sculling?

Sculling is a rowing technique that uses oars to propel a boat forward. Unlike traditional rowing, which uses oars that are attached to the boat, sculling uses oars that are held in the hands.

How do you do it?

To scull, rowers hold an oar in each hand and use them to propel the boat through the water. Sculling requires constant movement and coordination, making it a great workout for the whole body.

Who are some famous scullers?

Some of the most famous scullers in history include Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent, and Andrew Triggs Hodge.

What are the benefits of sculling?

Sculling is a great workout, as it uses all of the major muscle groups. In addition, because sculling involves constant movement, it can be an excellent way to improve cardiovascular health. Whether you’re looking for a new challenge or a new way to stay fit, sculling is definitely worth trying.

We hope you enjoyed learning about Sculling! This rowing technique is a great way to get a workout and enjoy the outdoors. If you’re interested in giving it a try, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide to sculling. And if you’re already an experienced sculler, we’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

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S&T Sculling Oar

Scull your small craft with one oar off the transom. Our unique offset curved blade, combined with incredibly flexible native Maine ash, makes sculling a joy. Standard length is 7’10” and suitable for most rowing boats. We also make sculling oars up to 21 feet to propel large craft. One customer circumnavigated the globe and their only auxiliary power was a 17-foot Shaw and Tenney sculling oar. Please call us to discuss your application.

Learn more about our Sculling Oars in our blog post: Sculling Oars for Propelling all Sizes of Boats

Select Your Wood

How to Size Your Oars

To determine the correct length oar for your boat measure the distance between the port and starboard oar sockets. Then apply the Shaw and Tenney oar length formula to determine the oar length that will provide the correct 7:18 leverage ratio. This length will provide an oar where 7/25 the length is inboard of the oarlocks and 18/25 of the oar is outboard of the oarlocks. It is the ideal ratio to row almost all boats. Sized correctly, when rowing your hands will be 1 to 3 inches apart and you will be pulling directly towards your abdomen. If you are popping out of your oarlocks when rowing your oars are far too short. If you prefer an overlapping grip, add 6” to the calculated oar length. If you have more than one rowing station in your boat, measure both. Typically they will require two different length oars which is fine if you’re going to be rowing tandem and need two sets. Otherwise you’ll need to compromise the correct length to work properly in both stations. If you are rowing more than 75% in one station size the oar to that length. As always feel free to call us and were happy to help you select the correct oar length and blade style for your boat.

The Original Shaw & Tenney Oar Length Formula

To help our customers size their oars correctly, we’ve been using the same formula since 1858: Measure the distance between the center of the port and starboard oar sockets, which hold the oar locks on each gunnel. This is called the “span” between the oarlocks. Divide the span by 2, and then add 2 to this number. The result is called the “inboard loom length” of the oar. Multiply the loom length by 25, and then divide that number by 7. The result is the proper oar length in inches. Round up or down to the closest 6” increment.

How to Size Your Paddle

For traditional wooden paddles the ideal length for the Stern paddler is the bridge of your nose or 6 inches less than your height. For the bow paddler the paddle reaching the cleft of your chin or 9 inches less than your height is correct.

For our Racine paddle if you are over 5’6” tall select the 63-1/2” length and the shorter paddle if you are under5’-6”tall.

When paddling solo we typically recommend a bow length paddle. For Canadian style solo most paddlers prefer an even shorter paddle.

For paddling canoes when standing (yes our mother let us do this) a 69 inch or 72 inch paddle is usually about right.

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The Original Coastal Rowboat Was A Whitehall

The Whitehall was without a doubt the original coastal rowing boat. The Whitehall was the most famous and the fastest rowboat of the 19th century. The ports of Boston, New York, and [...]

What is the Best Rowboat for Exercise and Fitness

This is a question we are asked often at boat shows and on social media. People are becoming more aware of the benefits of exercise and want to be active while they [...]

Yes, Whitehall Delivers Rowboats & Sailboats Worldwide

Do you deliver to...? A very frequently asked question, and to date, we have yet to say no. We have two basic methods of shipping our boats, depending on whether they are [...]

We Ship Worldwide!

Custom Delivery to US & Canada CE Certified, USCG & Canadian CG Approved Excellence in Service Since 1987

Visit our showroom at: 85 Dallas Road Victoria, British Columbia Canada

What Whitehall ® Owners Say

“Everything Harold said about the boats is so true. I am 72 years of age and have owned my Solo 14 since 2015. I row on the Ottawa River from April to November and my boat is truly an all water boat. I purchased the Oar Board package sold by Whitehall and enjoyed it also this past summer. However, nothing beats my Solo 14. Thanks Harold for adding another fun dimension to my active life.”

Thanks for the beautiful boat. I love the high level of quality. I am amazed at how easily my boat glides over the water when we are slide seat rowing.

This is the boat that I have been looking for, for thirty years. It’s a real rowing boat I can row in salt water. It’s got speed. I can pull it up on the beach and it’s unsinkable. That’s why I got one, I love it! (John rows the water around Deception Pass and Fidalgo Island, Washington, USA)

Wonderful workout.

My kids love going for rides and even the dog gets to come along!

The best part of towing the Solo was having her with me to row every morning. What a wonderful way to spend time while cruising… I rowed so much I ended up with blisters on my hands and bruises on my bum! THAT is a lot of rowing!

We are enjoying our Solo 14 every day. On the few days we don’t row, we just enjoy looking at her bobbing on the water right in front of our window. (Their Solo 14 anchored in front of their lakeside home in Montenegro)

I love my Oar Board! It’s fun, it’s fast and I get a super workout.

It is such a good workout and being on the water makes it so enjoyable. And my two dogs just love being out in the boat.

The Tango has become mine and I wish I could row all day. Today under the blue blue sky I felt like a part of the universe.

I really enjoy seeing the eddies from my oars as they disappear into the distance. I’ve always kept myself fit but I’ve never been more physically fit since I started rowing the Solo 14.

Having fun doesn’t quite adequately convey how much I love this boat! I have been rowing it in the mornings and it handles waves, swells, wakes and contrary tides so well I am getting more comfortable in it every time I take it out.

19 Mar 2024

• Single Minded - World Rowing's new miniseries
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World Rowing is pleased to introduce its new miniseries – Single Minded .

Single Minded showcases a number of single scullers, past and present, who delve more into what it means to be in this boat class, and why they do it. Some do it because they are the fastest in their nation. Others do it because their national programme does not yet have the depth to have crew boats. But no doubt about it, the life of a single sculler demands a certain type of person. Countless hours alone out on the water. All losses, but also all wins, come back to you.

In this first part, World Rowing talks to seven athletes:

• Damir Martin, Croatia – Premiering 20 March
• Riccardo Bouehi, Ivory Coast – Premiering 23 March
• Birgit Skarstein, Norway – Premiering 27 March
• Robbie Manson, New Zealand – Premiering 30 March
• Alexandra Foester, Germany – Premiering 3 April
• Stefanos Ntouskos, Greece – Premiering 6 April
• Alexandros Zisimidis, Cyprus – Premiering 10 April

All episodes will be available on World Rowing’s YouTube channel as well as on World Rowing’s website .

American Continent rowers secure their spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Related news.

The True Story Behind ‘The Boys in the Boat’

• The Boys in the Boat shows that rowing is not just for the elite, but for those who are determined to overcome adversity.
• The film illustrates the toughness of the sport and the grueling training that the rowers had to endure.
• Against the backdrop of fascism's rise in Germany, the University of Washington crew team's victory at the Olympics was a triumph of will and determination.

After nearly a decade since the rights to the story were first sold , and thanks to George Clooney for directing and co-producing, The Boys in the Boat is becoming a well-deserved film adaptation. The film stars Callum Turner as Joe Rantz, a freshman at the University of Washington and a new recruit to their rowing program, as well as Joel Edgerton as the head coach of the rowing team, Al Ulbrickson.

Based on a book of the same name by Daniel James Brown , The Boys In The Boat is about the rise of the men’s eight-man rowing crew from the University of Washington that went on to compete and win in the Summer Olympics in Berlin of 1936. Guided by head coach Al Ulbrickson, and with the help of legendary boat maker George Pocock, the team had all the components for success, as long as they could become truly one with each other and the boat they were racing in. The true story is one of struggle, determination, and finding one’s swing in life.

The Boys in the Boat

A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington's rowing team, from their Depression-era beginnings to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Release Date 2023-12-25

Director George Clooney

Cast Peter Guinness, Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Sam Strike

Genres Biography, Drama, Sports

The Boys in the Boat Shows Us Rowing Isn’t Just for the Elites

Depression-era America saw struggles the likes of which were unprecedented at the time. Many working-class and lower-income families lost everything and had to make tough choices to make ends meet. One family in particular, that of Joe Rantz, is in such desperate straights that his father and stepmother outright abandon him in his early teens. Rantz had to work several different odd jobs throughout high school just to support himself, and was still able to maintain good grades in school. According to the book, Rantz learns that The University of Washington offers those on the rowing team the ability to take a part-time job to pay for tuition. With this in mind, Rantz, along with roughly 180 other boys, show up to try out for a spot, despite the stigma that the sport is reserved for those from elite families.

The Boys in the Boat spends a good deal of time outlining what it was like to live and work back then as a young person trying to educate themselves. Rantz is no exception as he, along with several of his teammates, have to work labor-intensive jobs in between school years to feed themselves and afford tuition. This helps the team to feel more connected to each other and eventually allows Rantz to feel part of a whole—something his coaches proclaim is essential to develop a synchronization that is paramount to a competitive racing lineup. As the lineup for the varsity boat comes together, this increase in connection between the team helps develop their ability to row in perfect harmony, referred to by some in the sport as having ‘swing.’

‘The Boys in the Boat’ Illustrates How Tough the Sport Can Be

Just because one makes the team—which Joe Rantz along with eight other first-year students after nearly a year of trying out eventually did—doesn’t mean it's smooth sailing from there. Ulbrickson already had a reputation for being a tough coach, and was going to make sure these boys were ready for competition, no matter how many pass out in the process. There are grueling practice sessions that ultimately pay off, as the new freshman boat surpasses all expectations and crushes its rival from U.C. Berkley. They even defeat East Coast teams at the coveted Poughkeepsie Regatta in New York. Along with the mastercraft of George Pocock making the racing shells, it is at this point that Ulbrickson realizes he has a team that could be trained to compete at the international level.

'The Boys in the Boat' Review: George Clooney Should Stick To Acting

Joe Rantz’s story takes a series of ups and downs following his freshman year at college. He is switched onto and off of the varsity boat several times as Ulbrickson attempts to figure out the perfect combination of rowers to make a boat that would be able to compete at an international level. Rantz’s family life continues to be one of isolation as his stepmother and father forbid him from seeing the rest of the family even though they lived not far from his school. By the fall of 1935, Rantz is working harder than ever to attempt to make the final lineup in his boat, and feels that connection to his team, and something bigger than himself, that he has wanted his whole life. By January 1936, after a summer of working alongside more of his team at the Grand Coulee Dam, Joe finally gets into ‘swing’ with his team and a competitive boat comes together. Joe Rantz officially made the boat to compete for an Olympic spot. The team ends up destroying the competition during their regular season and the boat goes on to win the Princeton Olympic trials. The University of Washington's eight-man crew was officially headed to the Berlin Olympics.

‘Boys in the Boat’ is Set Against the Backdrop Fascism’s Rise

As Rantz and the rest of his team develop their skills as rowers, the story sets the stage for the importance of the Olympics of 1936. Hitler had been in power since ’33 and the world was watching with careful eyes the state of Germany as a big player on the world stage. The book details the lengths Hitler went to in order to show the world that Germany was a major power, throwing tons of government funds towards the Olympics to make Berlin a city that exemplified his vision of the country . This included removing antisemitic signs, and forcibly removing Romani families from the city. The Third Reich even commissioned new propaganda films to be made that glorified fascist ideals. This led to widespread unease among world nations that were slated to send athletes to the games.

By 1935, there was an all-out international movement calling for the boycott of the upcoming Olympics in Germany . Although many opposed, the Amateur Athletic Union committee ultimately decided that they would still send athletes to Berlin to compete. When the University of Washington’s Crew team did get to Berlin, they were in awe of the way the city presented itself as tolerant and modern. There was even a new Olympic stadium built just for the games. It is important to note that immediately following the Olympic Games, all antisemitic literature and signs were back in print and circulation. Even with all its self-perceived might and misplaced superiority, it was the Fascists that would end up on the losing end of the Olympic Games, at least where rowing was concerned.

The Odds Were Stacked Against ‘The Boys in the Boat’

Upon arriving for their ultimate race, several factors pointed to disadvantages for the boys. For one, their stroke seat, or rower that sits in front of all the others and sets the pace, falls sick on the journey over. This would carry into race day, but nonetheless, he would still compete. All members had gained weight due to the boat ride to Berlin offering a food buffet. The Washington crew team was placed in the outermost lane for the race. This was more exposed to the elements, impacting how the boat would perform. Spirits were low even after qualifying for the final race after beating the U.K. in the preliminary heat. When the starting gun went off, there was a delay in the U.S. boat as they didn’t hear the shot, putting them at a distance disadvantage as well.

When the University of Washington crew did finally get the boat moving, they were already behind. The sick stroke seat had his eyes closed and was barely holding a pace throughout much of the race. Thankfully, the coxswain kept calling to him and within the last six hundred meters, he snapped out of it. At this point, the U.S. is a boat length behind and had only the last quarter or so of the race left. Somehow, they were able to reach a stroke rate they had never hit before and achieve that ‘swing’ while doing so. It was a nail-biting finish but ultimately, they surpassed Germany and Italy, winning the race by just over half a second . A victory that perhaps foreshadowed the following war years in the boys’ eyes and one well-earned.

After the Olympics, the members of the Varsity Crew from the University of Washington would graduate and go on to live the rest of their lives. Joe Rantz passed away in 2007 and his story, as well as that of the crew that went to the 1936 Olympics, was largely left behind in the mainstream until "The Boys in the Boat" book came out. Now with the film adaptation, more people will be aware of the story of Joe Rantz and the rest of the crew. Hard beginnings and odds stacked, the story behind The Boys in the Boat is one of triumphs of will and determination.

The Boys in the Boat is now in theaters in the U.S.

Get tickets

Kansas State University

Hornet Invitational

K-State Claims First Place in Seven Races at Hornet Invitational

Mar 19, 2024 | Rowing

The 1v4+ boat won all three of their races

University of Alabama Athletics

Cardinal Invite

Alabama Rowing Concludes Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational

3/17/2024 12:41:00 PM | Rowing

The Crimson Tide collected nine first-place finishes across 16 races

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Alabama rowing program secured nine victories across 16 races to conclude the two-day weekend regatta at the Melton Lake Rowing Venue in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Crimson Tide snagged four first-place finishes in Saturday's morning session, spearheaded by the First Varsity 8+ (6:34.869) finishing two-seconds ahead of Notre Dame's second-place boat. The morning session concluded with the 3V4+ finishing just under 30-seconds before the Fighting Irish's second-place crew as Alabama picked up a time of 7:24.919.

Alabama collected an additional four first-place finishes in the afternoon session highlighted by a 10-second difference between the Tide's 2V4+ White crew (7:44.993) and North Carolina's second-place boat.

The final day of the regatta featured a win for the 2V4+ White crew, as Alabama crossed the line ahead of its Crimson crew, Indiana and Clemson with a 7:15.008.

The Tide concluded the weekend undefeated in the Second Varsity 4+. UA's 1V8+, 2V8+, 3V8+ and 3V4+ crews all picked up at least one win over the two-day regatta.

HEAD COACH GLENN PUTYRAE

"It was a great weekend of racing! We love this regatta because it provides an opportunity for all our boats to learn how to race better. We are grateful to the University of Louisville staff for hosting."

SATURDAY RESULTS

• V8 – 1 st vs. Notre Dame/Louisville – 6:34.869
• V4 – 2 nd vs. Notre Dame/Louisville – 7:20.412
• 2V8 – 1 st vs. Notre Dame/Louisville – 6:33.454
• Crimson – 2 nd vs. White/Notre Dame/Louisville – 7:24.643
• White – 1 st vs. Crimson/Notre Dame/Louisville – 7:20.034
• 3V4 – 1 st vs. Notre Dame/Louisville – 7:24.919
• 3V8 – 1 st vs. Wisconsin/North Carolina – 7:15.903
• V8 – 2 nd vs. Wisconsin/North Carolina/San Diego – 6:46.482
• V4 – 2 nd vs. Wisconsin/North Carolina/San Diego – 7:38.148
• 2V8 – 1 st vs. Wisconsin/North Carolina/San Diego – 6:49.430
• 2V4 White – 1 st vs. Wisconsin/ North Carolina /San Diego – 7:44.993
• 3V4 – 1 st vs. Wisconsin/Louisville – 7:44.425

SUNDAY RESULTS

• V8 – 2 nd vs. Indiana/Clemson – 6:25.666
• V4 – 2 nd vs. Indiana/Clemson – 7:10.784
• 2V8 – 2 nd vs. Indiana/Clemson – 6:29.910
• Crimson – 2 nd vs. White/Indiana/Clemson
• White – 1 st vs. Crimson/Indiana/Clemson
• 3V4 – 3 rd vs. Indiana/Clemson – 7:31.983

ALABAMA BOAT LINEUPS

Saturday morning/afternoon.

• 1V8+: Ashley Sizelove (cox), Rachel Fuller , Mary Czaja , Lizzie Hall , Ingrid Lofgren , Abby Pesansky , Sydney Wenstrom , Kristina Noje , Shelby Schoeman
• 2V8+: Reagan Lewis (cox), Andrijana Mijailovic , Paige Perrott , Ella Kemna , Zoe DeFeo , Riley Parbon , Ryleigh White , Renni Fultz , Savannah Snow
• 1V4+: Reagan Labiak (cox), Dani French , Jayden Grisaffe , Raegan Beightol , Hayden Hammond
• Crimson: Riley Minor (cox), Sophie Coutant , Kelsey Matsen , Emma Voelkerding , Lauren Lowe
• White: Lauren Schneiderman (cox), Ryan Hendrzak , Emma Burnley , Kathryn Kennefick , Elizabeth Struble
• 3V4+: Sarah Jacobs (cox), Brynna Ruf , Sydney Warmbier , Lauren Hall , Ashley Perrott
• 1V8+: Ashley Sizelove (cox), Rachel Fuller , Mary Czaja , Lizzie Hall , Ingrid Lofgren , Abby Pesansky , Sydney Wenstrom , Kristina Noje , Zoe DeFeo
• 2V8+: Reagan Lewis (cox), Andrijana Mijailovic , Paige Perrott , Riley Parbon , Hayden Hammond , Renni Fultz , Ryleigh White , Ella Kemna , Savannah Snow
• 1V4+: Reagan Labiak (cox), Ryan Hendrzak , Dani French , Raegan Beightol , Emma Burnley
• Crimson: Lauren Schneiderman (cox), Emma Voelkerding , Kelsey Matsen , Jayden Grisaffe , Lauren Lowe
• White: Riley Minor (cox), Sophie Coutant , Mandy Moran , Kathryn Kennefick , Elizabeth Struble
• Alabama will return to the water April 18-20, in Sarasota, Fla., to compete in the Big Ten Invitational

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaRow on X and Instagram and Alabama Rowing on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

S10 Episode 4: Boat Race Crew Announcement 2024 The End of the Island Rowing Podcast

Fergus and Tom and live from the Crew Announcement for the 2024 Gemini Boat Races. They caught up with Cambridge President Seb Benzecry and Oxford President Ella Stadler to hear their thoughts after their crews were announced to the world. Earlier in the week, Tom caught up with Lenny Jenkins, who has just been announced in Oxford's Blue Bloat to hear all about his rowing journey up to this point. This episode is sponsored by Wintech & King Racing. WinTech & King Racing have established themselves as the largest and foremost sustainable boat builder, producing over 2000 boats annually. They are dedicated to expanding the reach of the sport by making it accessible to all through the integration of cutting-edge technology and the use of the highest quality materials. Drawing on the combined expertise of US engineering and German and Australian design, WinTech & King craft exceptional racing shells that set new standards for performance and durability.  WinTech and King’s  unwavering commitment to sustainability, affordability, and innovation drives them to propel the sport of rowing into a more inclusive and exciting future, where excellence knows no boundaries. WinTech & King Racing shells are available worldwide through their network of distributors.  Learn more about how you can get a fair price and unfair advantage by finding your local distributor: www.wintechking.com

• More Episodes
• © 2024 The End of the Island Rowing Podcast

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Rowing NZ, the Maadi Cup and the quest for school supremacy

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By Dana Johannsen of RNZ

It’s the silence that always grabs Susan Hassall. The unnerving stillness.

When rowing romantics talk about the magic of the Maadi Cup – the final race of the secondary schools rowing championships – their stories typically centre on the chaotic scenes the event inspires.

Picture this: 2500 high school rowers and thousands more support crew, families and spectators crammed in along the embankment for finals day. Inter-school rivalries, and even inter-island rivalries, are fierce.

The tension reaches fever pitch for the under-18 boys’ eight final, traditionally positioned as the premier event of the regatta. The embankment becomes a mass of frenzied screaming and chanting, some supporters even advancing into the shallows of the lake willing their boats to victory.

But for Hassall, the long-serving principal of Hamilton Boys’ High School (HBHS), it’s the moment when an anticipated hush falls over the crowd as they await the starting buzzer that leaves the biggest impression.

“The silence is extraordinary, like the whole crowd stops … you can hear a pin drop,” says Hassall, who estimates she will be attending her 25th Maadi Regatta in Twizel this week.

“Then as they come towards the last 500, the screaming starts. I’ve usually got my eyes closed by that point, because I’m not a good finals watcher,“ she said.

“But it’s extraordinary, emotional, highly charged.”

Lately, however, many in the sport are questioning whether it has become too highlycharged.

When it comes to the Maadi Cup, HBHS are considered one of the heavyweights. They have won the iconic pyramid-shaped trophy an impressive 11 times – most recently in 2022.

But the reputation of the school’s much-vaunted rowing programme took a hit last year when it became embroiled in a cheating scandal. A Rowing NZ investigation found the school had committed 17 rule breaches from 2021-2023.

The scandal attracted national headlines and widespread scorn from rivals – but not surprise.

“There’s definitely a feeling that something like this was going to happen. It’s probably been brewing for a while,” says one Auckland high school coach.

The coach, who asked not to be named out of concern there would be fallout for his school, claims the rule breaches are symptomatic of a “win-at-all-costs” mentality pervading the sport.

He points to other “ethically dubious” behaviours such as poaching, and the “year-14 phenomenon”, whereby age-eligible students repeat year 13 in order to row another Maadi Cup, as a sign things have gone too far.

These concerns are not unique to rowing. The coach points out the same issues are rife in schoolboy rugby and cricket, but he describes rowing – a sport in which elitism and prestige are the twin helixes of its DNA – as “its own special basket case”.

“It’s [got] long past the point where something needs to be done about it.”

The photograph

In the end, it was a photograph on Hamilton Boys’ High School’s own website that proved the unravelling of its rowing programme.

In March last year, Rowing NZ received a whistleblower complaint alleging HBHS had repeatedly breached the rules by substituting older rowers in novice races and failing to register those changes.

The allegations, if true, were suggestive of systemic manipulation of the rules over a number of years.

The problem for Rowing NZ was it is difficult to retroactively prove the crew listed on the entry were not the same boys in the boat.

A post on the school website congratulating one of the novice crews on their win at a recent regatta proved the leaping off point for the investigation. One of the boys pictured celebrating on the podium was not in the crew list.

Rowing NZ then set about getting its hands on as much photographic evidence as it could from the last three seasons, cross referencing crew lists with event photos, pictures on social media and the school newsletter.

In all, the governing body tallied 17 rules breaches across 10 events involving two rowers.

The school was stripped of titles and medals won at two Maadi regattas and two North Island Secondary School Championships between 2021 and 2023.

Until now, HBHS has only addressed the scandal through tightly worded statements. But on the eve of the national championships, where HBHS is once again one of the big contenders for the Maadi Cup, Hassall wants to clear up a few things.

“There was no intention to defraud,” she tells RNZ .

“And I’ll say that over and over, because it’s the absolute truth.

“Really what I think needs to be understood by the community, is as soon as we found out about it we recognised our breach and we apologised to Rowing NZ straight away and they chose not to deal with it with us, they chose to take it further and get lawyers involved and what not.”

Hassall, who will retire at the end of the term, declined to give her views on the investigation. But there remains a strong sense among HBHS supporters that Rowing NZ was heavy-handed in its approach.

Others, though, think the governing body was too soft on the school and that the breaches should have spelt “game over” for HBHS’ involvement in this week’s Maadi Regatta.

Rowing NZ’s Mark Weatherall led the investigation and says it was robust.

“Look, I guess there’s different views of what happened and how it happened and why it happened, but the reality is that we found the [allegations] to be valid and we dealt with that school appropriately,” Weatherall says.

“The process we went through has sent a clear message to the schools that that behaviour can not be tolerated, and that [we] will take that seriously and act on it – the integrity of the sport is the utmost.”

In the fallout from the scandal, the entire schools’ rowing environment has come under the microscope, revealing deeper, more fundamental concerns about the overheated nature of the sport.

“Going through that process there were other concerns from other schools that were raised, not necessary about [rule breaches], but other behaviours that suggest maybe, on a scale, things have gone a bit too far,” Weatherall says.

Tony O’Connor, who coaches at Christ’s College – an exclusive boys’ school in Christchurch – says there are a lot of things happening that sit within the bounds of the rules, but occupy a grey area ethically.

He’s been a particularly outspoken critic of coaches who encourage students to repeat year 13 for another crack at a title. In 2022, O’Connor was among a handful of Christchurch coaches who wrote to Rowing NZ, School Sport and Sport NZ to express their concerns about the controversial practice.

“This competition we are training for in March is called the New Zealand secondary schools. And in New Zealand, secondary school goes from year nine to year 13. And that’s it. Yes, there is still an age restriction and the kids have to be under-18, so they are not breaking any rules,” O’Connor says.

“The issue I have with that is these kids have had an extra year of training. And in an endurance sport like rowing, that’s a huge advantage if you’ve done five years, rather than four years.”

While critics of the practice claim there are “no valid educational reasons” for students to repeat year 13, others disagree.

Ashburton College coach Justin Wall’s daughter Veronica, who is now a member of the Rowing NZ high performance team, competed at the Maadi Regatta as a year-14 student before taking up a scholarship at the prestigious Yale University.

Wall says with the academic year in the United States starting in September, some rowers return to school to continue their study before they take up college scholarships.

Poaching is another source of tension among school rowing programmes. O’Connor says the practice of recruiting talented students from other schools was “out of hand” when he arrived from Ireland two decades ago, but has been curtailed more recently with the introduction of School Sport NZ’s eligibility regulations.

The regulations place limits on how many “new-to-school” students schools can field in their premier sports teams. For rowing, that means schools can have one “new-to-school” crew member in a four, but up to three in an eight.

“So the maths doesn’t really stack up there,” says O’Connor, a maths teacher.

But he has a more fundamental problem with it than dodgy arithmetic.

“Isn’t that terrible, that you have to have a quota in place to stop this from happening? I just don’t think it’s right, schools will kind of package it up as ‘it’s good for the kids, we’re bringing these kids from disadvantaged schools to give them a good education’.

“To me, you’re using those kids as currency then when you dress them up in your uniform and you win and it looks good for the school.”

The thing about rowing

So the story goes, the Maadi Cup’s origins lie in bonds forged in Egypt during World War II.

In 1939, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force established a base at Maadi, a suburb of Cairo, and during their deployment competed in several regattas against the local rowing club on the Nile.

As a token of friendship, Dr Youssef Baghat of the Cairo Rowing Club presented the Kiwis with a cup in 1942. The trophy was then gifted to Rowing NZ to be used to foster inter-school competition between schoolboy eight crews.

It was first contested in 1947, with Auckland’s Mt Albert Grammar crowned the inaugural winner ahead of three other schools.

Over the years, the national secondary schools championships has expanded to include 40 categories, with girls races included for the first time 1973.

But those rugged, masculine origins remain firmly entrenched, and the Maadi Cup still carries top billing.

“It carries that sense of history, it carries that sense of people sacrificing themselves,” Hassall says.

“The whole concept of the Maadi is symbolic of the commitment that the rowers have made through years of training. The Maadi Cup itself is the pinnacle of ambition at secondary school rowing level.”

It’s not just the pinnacle of ambition for the rowers.

The Maadi Cup has become a status symbol for schools as well – a powerful marketing tool to attract the best and brightest talent to their campus who will then be charged with maintaining that legacy.

Hassall believes some schools take their obsession with the Maadi Cup too far, but she does not consider HBHS to be in that category.

“There is a level of competitiveness in sport in terms of school reputations, which I don’t think is always healthy,” she says.

“Rowing is for some schools, a badge of honour. If you win the Maadi Cup, then you’re seen as being a better school. It’s not something we believe in.”

It’s not healthy for the sport either.

The overt focus on the event has created retention problems for the sport. About 75 per cent of Rowing NZ’s membership are high school rowers - indicating a massive drop-off once athletes finish school.

“Because a lot of people look at the Maadi Cup as the pinnacle, a lot of kids will quit after school and not go on. They think ‘what else is there? I’ve won a national championship’,” explains O’Connor.

That’s a big problem for Rowing NZ when they only have a limited pool of people in the sport to begin with.

One official describes the high school rowing programmes as a “self-selecting group” – it’s only the students whose parents can afford the fees that get involved in the first place.

Many of the private schools and bigger public schools’ rowing set-ups mirror high performance programmes, with large coaching staffs, and professionalised training structures.

When parents invest that much into a sport, it is only natural that they become deeply involved, which can add another source of pressure.

O’Connor says he is constantly pushing the message to parents to rein in their expectations around the Maadi Cup.

“Certainly our school held it in high esteem and I found that others did as well, and it was sort of the be-all and end-all, which to me, was the first warning sign that maybe we shouldn’t be putting so much pressure on the kids to perform and it seemed to be all about that one race.

“You’ll hear ‘how’s the eight going?’ and I’ll say ‘well we have six eights – which one are you talking about’?

“I personally just try to take it down a notch. I find I’m always fighting that battle – let’s not build it up to something it’s not. It’s not life and death.”

Finding perspective in a hospital bed

O’Connor doesn’t remember anything of his final at the 2002 rowing world championships.

The former Irish international and partner Gearoid Towey dominated the men’s lightweight pair over a two-year stretch in the early 2000s.

After taking out the 2001 world title and setting the pace over the start of the 2002 season, most expected the pair would add another world championship crown in Spain that year.

But few were aware that earlier that season O’Connor had been told he needed to quit the sport by his long-time mentor, Thor Nilsen. The two-time Olympian had been struggling with “family stuff, relationship stuff, and some of the political stuff that was going as well”.

“I got quite stressed, and alongside that, I got very sick,” O’Connor says.

But, at the time, he could not recognise the damage that pressure he was putting himself under was doing. Come the world championships, O’Connor says he was a shell of himself.

What O’Connor now knows is he was suffering from a form of overtraining syndrome, leaving him chronically fatigued.

The Irish pair came last in the final - a race O’Connor says to this day he cannot remember. Following the final a “very sick” O’Connor was carted off to the medical tent.

He awoke to an IV in his arm, and the sight of a very upset Nilsen, who delivered a harsh ultimatum. The Norwegian great, who passed away late last year, told O’Connor that if he wanted to row again, Nilsen would not coach him. But he offered the athlete another option: “He said, ‘I’d like you to come coach the national team with me’,” O’Connor recalls.

“I stopped right there and then on that hospital bed in Seville in 2002. That was the end of my rowing career.”

He’s never really thought of it until now, he says, but O’Connor’s experiences as an athlete have shaped his approach to coaching.

“I ended my rowing career quite prematurely. I mean, I was 32, but I intended to keep going for another Olympic cycle. It was only when I removed myself from that situation, and health-wise got better, I realised that all these external pressures … really affected me.

“Literally a week after I stopped rowing, I started coaching full-time internationally, which was quite fortuitous. But immediately I realised that we need to do this for the right reasons, both in terms of success on the water, but also, more importantly, for the health of the athletes.

“That really cemented the why I do this job. Because hell, there’s nothing more important than your life and wellbeing.”

A couple of years into coaching, O’Connor took up an offer to move to the other side of the world to return to teaching, as well as head up the Christ’s College rowing programme.

It wasn’t long after he landed at the Hogwarts-like grounds of the historic boys’ school in the heart of Christchurch that he realised the sport was taken a lot more seriously down these parts.

“It was all about ‘we have to win the Maadi Cup, that’s what we expect’,” he recalls.

“I said, well actually what I expect is some good, honest kids to turn up and do some hard training and we’ll see where we go from there.”

It’s not about the boat

The sun has not long peered out above the Ben Ohau Range that frames Lake Ruataniwha, when the first wave arrives.

The stillness of the early morning air is broken by the sound of the low buzz of bike chains as a group of Christ’s College rowers freewheel into the boat park of the Meridian Rowing Centre.

They set their bikes down in a haphazard pile, which will fan out over the morning as more waves of students arrive, and quickly set about organising themselves for the session.

Jackets and hoodies are discarded for their rowing kit, coxswains don their headsets, oars are gathered.

Then, in a manoeuvre requiring maximum co-ordination, the boys hoist the skiff from the racks, sling it onto their shoulders and trek down to the pontoon to launch the boat.

This has been the routine for the past five mornings, with the 55 boys involved in the programme spending the final week of their summer break in camp in Twizel.

To O’Connor, the camp is as much about what they do off the water, as on it.

The philosophy is simple: they encourage accountability, teamwork and personal responsibility.

The students are responsible for getting themselves to and from the lake each day, biking the 4km journey from their accommodation in the centre of Twizel to the lake on the edge of the township. They’re also expected to pitch in with cooking, cleaning and laundry.

“One of the big things we do is, yeah, we try to teach them how to move a boat quickly. But I think really what we’re trying to do is help these young men just grow up into good citizens,” he says.

“So we teach them things like how to ride a bike single file, how to wash their dishes, how to use a washing machine, how to use a [vacuum cleaner] – that’s always a big one for a lot of the day boys – they sort of stare at it with a lost look on their face - so yeah, those sort of life skills are imprinted on them quite early.”

The morning’s training involves a series of practice starts in preparation for the South Island Championships, which are being held at Lake Ruataniwha that weekend. For the younger crop of boys in the group, they are yet to have their first taste of racing after strong winds forced the cancellation of much of the summer regatta programme in Twizel – much to the lament of the clubs.

Down at the startline, O’Connor watches on bemused while a fellow coach, Nathan Luff, patiently communicates the starting sequence to the crews on the water.

Just getting to the startline can be stressful for young rowers. The crews must perform the delicate dance of getting themselves lined up in the lane, at times testing the patience of the starter, officials and fellow competitors.

The purpose of this exercise is to eliminate some of that angst.

“People lose sight of why we do this, why we started doing it as kids, and why we should continue to do it, and winning becomes the goal,” O’Connor says, as the crews disappear from view up the course.

“To me, winning has never ever been the goal – that never should be the goal. And ironically enough, when you start fixating on winning, you tend not to win. When you fixate on doing things right – both physiologically training-wise, technique-wise, but also ethically and morally as well, you get much better athletes.”

If that sounds like an anti-competitive attitude then the thing you need to know about O’Connor is he has not only reached the top of the sport as an athlete, but also as a coach.

In 2019, he was asked to take over the New Zealand men’s eight programme as the team attempted to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games. That one-year assignment became two when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the delay of the Games.

The New Zealand men’s eight, which qualified for Tokyo via the last-chance regatta only months before the Games, went on to become Olympic champions after torching the field in a brutal display of power.

International job offers followed for O’Connor, but he elected to return to Christ’s College, where he teaches maths and physics.

“One of the reasons I’m not continuing on in my international coaching career is because this stuff is, in so many ways, better. I love the guys I coached over the few years with Rowing NZ, but this is where you get to see changes day by day, and you just feel like you might have had a little part to play in these kids becoming something special.”

On a slow boat to change

From his “office” overlooking the Lake Ruataniwha rowing course, Wall has a better position than most to sense the winds of change.

The veteran coach, administrator, technical official and rowing dad can be found at most regattas in the starting tower, sending crews off down the course to a fate unknown.

He’s come to learn the unique weather patterns of the venue, and in particular, which winds will cause a short delay, and when it’s time to pack up for the day.

He’s also got a strong sense of the barometer on the ground.

“The conversation is shifting,” Wall observes.

“There’s a number of concerns that have been around for a while now. I think more recently there has come a shift and we as a sport are looking for solutions. There’s recognition there that we have to adapt and change.”

Last year Wall, a long-time coach of Ashburton College, stood before the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Rowing Association annual meeting, to support a proposal to significantly shake-up high school rowing.

The proposal, put forward by another South Island rowing stalwart, Rowing NZ president John O’Connor (no relation to Tony), recommended changing the age classification for regattas to school year level (year 10,11,12, 13) as opposed to their age (U15, U16, U17, U18).

The thinking behind it is that rowing is a late-development sport, with most participants not picking up an oar until they reach high school.

Currently the age-based system favours those with “lucky birthdays”, with some year 11 students with three years of training under their belts still eligible to race in the under-15 division, pitting them against rowers completely new to the sport.

The gulf in experience and training age can lead to significant margins in competition, which, officials point out, can lead young athletes to decide they’re not cut out for the sport.

It was also noted in the meeting minutes that the move to a year-based system would bring an end to the controversial practice of “year 14″ athletes.

“Limiting the Maadi Regatta to years 11, 12, and 13 will stop the inclusion of age eligible students returning to school only to compete at Maadi.”

Wall says the reception for the proposal at last year’s annual meeting, held on the eve of the Maadi Regatta, was fairly muted (“we didn’t get a standing ovation, but we didn’t get booed out of the room either”). But in conversations at Karapiro over the course of the week most people he spoke to agreed change was needed.

“I had plenty of opportunity to talk to coaches and everybody had an opinion, and frequently it was not the same opinion, about where we should be going – which I think is healthy,” he says.

“If you’ve got a sport where everyone says ‘nah we’re just going to carry on doing this’, then you’ve got to question the integrity of the sport.”

Even Wall and John O’Connor aren’t aligned in every point of the proposal – in particular the ‘year 14′ issue, and a recommendation that the Maadi Regatta would only be open to year 11 students and above. Instead, the focus for the younger athletes should be skill development, and less intensive competition.

But Wall says he wouldn’t like to see the younger students excluded from the Maadi Regatta.

“I think competition is great. We need young people to be exposed to competition, to be exposed to winning. And also to be exposed to participating,” he says.

“That is one of the tricky things – will we be taking away a rich experience for them?”

The upshot of the discussion at the 2023 meeting was a motion was passed for a working group to be formed to properly tease out the pros and cons of the proposed changes.

But thus far, no further work has been done on the proposal.

Weatherall says the national body is hemmed in by the constitution of the national schools rowing association, which dictates that rule changes can only be made every four years.

He adds a working group will be established this winter, with the panel looking to put forward rule changes to be voted on at the 2025 annual meeting.

“There are different ideas and we need to explore those before we put forward anything for a vote,” he says.

“Ultimately, it will come back to the schools, because they own the association. As such, our role is to provide leadership and strong rationale for change. But the reality is that they will decide.”

Correct your course

Strong winds have turned the topaz waters of Lake Ruataniwha into a white-capped monster, forcing the abandonment of Saturday’s race programme at the South Island Championships in late January.

But Sunday dawns with a different kind of energy. After a disrupted summer regatta schedule, the conditions have finally allowed a full day of racing bringing a buzz to the park.

At the start line, 2km up the lake from the boat park, the women’s novice double sculls are first up on the schedule. They manoeuvre their way, trying to line themselves up with the starting gates in an awkward slow dance.

Once they are all in alignment, there is no messing around from Wall in the starting tower. The buzzer sounds and they burst off the line with a series of frenzied strokes.

The umpire boats quickly fall in behind fanning out across the lake so officials can keep an eye on each of the lanes.

Soon the rhythmic swishing sound of the oars slicing through the water is replaced by a soundtrack of duelling megaphones, as officials bark instructions at the young crews.

“Correct your course,” they repeat almost in unison.

The chorus echoes across the lake long after the boats have disappeared from sight.

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