rigging question - oar length for teenage girl
Nick Suess
and row it! But this ain't for me.
I have had a request for sculling oars at 284cm for a teenage girl rower of
fairly normal size, and apparently this length, which seems very small to
me, is the coach's insistence. I don't much want to sell her nice new oars
that she will rapidly realise are too small for her, especially as she puts
on another two or three inches to reach her full adult height and builds a
bit of muscle bulk. Adjustables give some flexibility, but most of that
should be there in reserve for gearing up at any time she rows in a quad.
So, playmates, your suggested rig for young teens would be welcome.
Thanks
Nick
Alastair Warnock
Don't really know exact figures, but I am 6'4 (192cm), 88kg (194lbs
ish), can scull fairly rapidly at times and use oars that are
currently set on 287cm. 284cm is fine for a girl, it's the rest of the
rig that is more important than the size of the spoons and stiffness.
So to be honest 284cm with a small spoon and normal stiffness seems
about right if it has about 3-4cm of adjustment for larger boats.
Alastair
Alastair Warnock
> "Nick Suess" <ni...@scull.com.au> wrote in message news:<3f4ae69a$0$23584$5a62...@freenews.iinet.net.au>...
<snip>
> currently set on 287cm. 284cm is fine for a girl, it's the rest of the
> rig that is more important than the size of the spoons and stiffness.
that should be..... and the size of....not than, size and stiffness of
blades is very important
Rob Collings
> > Not like me to be fussing too much over rigging. I just get in the damn boat
> > and row it! But this ain't for me.
> >
> > I have had a request for sculling oars at 284cm for a teenage girl rower of
> > fairly normal size, and apparently this length, which seems very small to
> > me, is the coach's insistence. I don't much want to sell her nice new oars
> > that she will rapidly realise are too small for her, especially as she puts
> > on another two or three inches to reach her full adult height and builds a
> > bit of muscle bulk. Adjustables give some flexibility, but most of that
> > should be there in reserve for gearing up at any time she rows in a quad.
> >
> > So, playmates, your suggested rig for young teens would be welcome.
>
> Don't really know exact figures, but I am 6'4 (192cm), 88kg (194lbs
> ish), can scull fairly rapidly at times
Would those times be when you are racing?
and use oars that are
> currently set on 287cm. 284cm is fine for a girl, it's the rest of the
> rig that is more important than the size of the spoons and stiffness.
> So to be honest 284cm with a small spoon and normal stiffness seems
> about right if it has about 3-4cm of adjustment for larger boats.
Personally, I'd give her a normal spoon and softer blades. Either the
standard weight or rec blades should be fine. Not ultralights though.
And I would try to get her to take adjustables - with 284 at the
shortest end of the adjustment. That way there is plenty of scope for
getting longer. I would tend to say that 284 is a little short, but I
don't know the girl. And I think its only a little short - I would
probably go for 285.
Rob.
Ian Simpson
length of oar, or gearing generally, is to compare the time taken
during the drive phase of the stroke with a calculated optimum range.
Gearing adjustments could then be made to help the individual rower
more closely achieve the sought for optimum.
Does anyone know if a database of calculated optimal drive-times
exists for various boatclasses?
simon
news:d609a908.03082...@posting.google.com...
Could that be worked out by:
Picking a target race time for example 6 minutes in an eight.
Picking a target rate, say 30 strokes/minute, 2 seconds per stroke.
Using the ratio of 1:2 (I think I read this in one of the Biomechanical
articles the Australian Institute of Sport puts out), the average drive time
should be about .67 of second.
So I guess it would then be a case of trial and error to gear the boat such
that .67 could be achieved.
Does that make sense or am I totally crazy?
Rob Collings
I'm fairly sure that the ratio won't quite be 1:2 when racing. And
anyway, for your method to work you would have to make sure the ratio
stayed fixed (or measured) throughout the piece. That isn't going to
happen.
I think the best way would be to have a number that was representative
of the gearing. I always used to use outboard / spread as an
approximation. I now tend away from that one given what I've seen and
read on here and Bill Atkinson's webpage. Unfortunately, I haven't
found a better one yet!
I don't think there is an easy way to do this. I usually take a
starting point (either from experience or from tables) and see how the
crew manage with that. How they look and feel towards the end of a
piece can tell you a lot about their gearing. In this particular
instance, I have no tables or experience of young teenage girls so all
I can do is guess based on what I do know.
Rob.
Jeremy Fagan
their height. Also on the type of blade. Since I'm rowing on 283 myself at
the moment, I'd say it's a bit long...
Jeremy
"Nick Suess" <ni...@scull.com.au> wrote in message
news:3f4ae69a$0$23584$5a62...@freenews.iinet.net.au...
Walter Martindale
284 is probably OK for a teenage girl, and as has been mentioned
elsewhere the spread/inboard is also important.
Are your blades not adjustable for length if the young woman does get
bigger/stronger?
Walter
Nick Suess
"Walter Martindale" <wmartind@SPAMSTOPPER??telusplanet.net> wrote in message
news:RZ83b.63858$K44.28516@edtnps84...
> Nick Suess wrote:
> 284 is probably OK for a teenage girl, and as has been mentioned
> elsewhere the spread/inboard is also important.
> Are your blades not adjustable for length if the young woman does get
> bigger/stronger?
> Walter
Hi Walter, and thanks to everyone else.
My past experience is that schools have bought oars at 287cm for early
teens, so 284cm seemed very short, but based on comments here, it seems to
be about the lower extreme for the age group (except for Jeremy, who is of
course a total weirdo anyway!).
I can sell her adjustables with a 4cm range, so 284-288cm, or maybe
285-289cm would be better in the long term.
Regards
Nick
Walter Martindale
284-288 is probably fine for the long term - if she outgrows them she
can sell them to a new young'n who can use the shorter sticks, and get a
new set for herself - some of my provincial team senior women's crews
still use 288 and just won the national champs in the W4X....
Walter