Toe-steering a blind pair / how to row a pair

[Laura Bauschard]

Anyone have any suggestions, articles, or links to videos about how to 1) Toe-steer a blind pair, & 2)Row sweep properly in a pair?
Second time trying the toe-steering today, & fifth time (ever) in a pair this morning. It was ugly, but I'm thrilled we didn't crash into anything or get run over by a ferry!!
Allegedly, pairs are good learning tools for racing in 4+'s & 8's...

[rolyb...@googlemail.com]

suggestions, articles, or links to videos about how to 1) Toe-steer a blind pair, & 2)Row sweep properly in a pair?

Laura,
I suspect people are reluctant to give an answer because it is such an individual thing.
Steering, of course the problem is to go straight. So its actually the same problem as how to row the boat. In most boats when you start off you take it gently at first and build up. In a pair it may work best to be more positive at the catch so that the timing comes easier; and you get penalised for any difference at the finish, so choose a similar partner, but sometimes dissimilar people row a pair well. Rowing is just rowing. Point the boat where you want to go, go together. If you find you have gone off course stop and try again, go with a coach or another boat that can look out for you.
Roly

[andymck...@gmail.com]

Speaking from a point of total amateurism.
1. Check that the steering shoe is set up correctly - you don't often have a lot of movement, and a rudder that starts out off centre will not help.
2. A mark (a piece of tape) that shows you that you have a centralised rudder can help. The best steering shoe we have used had a positive central détente that you could feel under the balls of your feet, without limiting ease of movement.
3. If you have a lot of rudder movement the rudder can stall if you give full deflection at low speed. That can be disconcerting, because your instinct is to add more rudder, and that just makes the stall worse, and it ends up in involuntary botany. You can add limit markers to help judge how far over you have the rudder.
4. I try (but fail!) to make steering corrections in small but positive increments rather than frantic toe waggling, and to wait a few strokes to see if they are effective. So you move your toe maybe a centimetre - review - adjust.
5. Don't be afraid to use pressure to steer - at least if like me your aim is style rather than speed! You have control of your blade and you can always ask your partner to lighten up/pull harder.
6. If the boat persistently pulls to one side it's often stroke length - maybe mismatched finishes, so again you or your partner may have to adapt - even to the extent of one of you deliberately shortening up to get things balanced and straight.

Andy

[James HS]

A pair is such fun - you already start with the fact that the bow oarsperson is gong to spin the boat around if they stroke as hard as the stroke - so lots of the direction of travel is determined by how the bow person strokes in comparison to the stroke.

I am a relatively lower powered rower and have been able to easily go in a straight line with the most powerful stroke person .... it would not work the other way round.

Steering is then steering - small changes early avoids the fact that you are slowing the boat down with the bigger angle of steer - you are better off IMO adjusting your stroke power.

Then just get relaxed and get used to each other - the oddest combinations can work in pair, but it takes lots of trust and communication.

James

[marko....@gmail.com]

I've only been in a pair a few times but at stroke. Both of us had never been in one or bowed a 4- or 4X. Compared to a 1x where I'm used to rowing for many strokes without any taps of a blade on the water it was pretty difficult.

It is easy to use up loads of energy with the boat waggling even slightly due to mismatches. I found it was much more than just timing and matching stroke lengths, the force profile you put down also needs to fit (and may not necessarily match!) When we got a run of strokes where we both got max force on totally in sync the boat really shot forward happily (like a scull) and I could feel the extra force on the oar since instead of yawing the boat slightly it was all going into moving it forward.

[wmar...@gmail.com]

Mileage...
Rather than stop there... Toe steering is a skill best learned by everyone. For the past while I've been coaching folks to install the steering in stroke seat, because stroke can see the wake more easily, and has better perspective on the buoys on a race course - so can steer to correct for bendy courses.

In the early 90s, Peggy McBride, at the time a researcher with the AIS, found that people who mostly row pairs develop slightly different force profiles from stroke seat to bow seat. A stroke seat has a slightly quicker uptake of force on the oar than bow seat, which, if a crew trains together a lot, helps overcome the leverage advantage held by bow seat at the early part of the drive. Possibly bow seat learns to back off the initial hit at the catch in aid of stroke getting the boat to track straight, too, but IIRC Peggy said it was something that the stroke may have learned to keep from being overpowered at the catch. FWIW I did some ergometer force measurement in spring of 1992, using the Canadian Olympic rowing squad. Then world and soon-to-be Olympic W2- champs Heddle and McBean each pulled 2 minutes at simulated race-pace on a Gjessing with a strain gauge between the handle and the drive cable. Heddle's force profile early in the drive kicked up slightly higher, and visibly sooner than McBean's if the force profiles were overlaid. The peak forces were about the same, at about 600N (averaged over 2 minutes) per stroke. Each woman was applying about 60 kg worth of force to the handle, every stroke. The men who tested, (who went on that year to win the 8+ in Barcelona) were mostly applying about 750-800N, but I didn't have the luxury of knowing who paired with whom at the time.

WRT rudder - If you make sure the rudder is in the centre when your steering foot (with your foot in it, while rowing) is in the neutral position, you can get the most steering effect with about 30 degrees (or perhaps less) of rudder deflection. The rudder, if configured properly and next to the fin, works in part by developing lift and "pulling" the fin/rudder combination away from the direction the rudder is deflected... A bit like the flaps on an aircraft's wings, increasing the lift by deflecting downwards to provide greater lift at slower speeds.

WRT steering - In the same way you get to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice...

[sully]

They can be, for sure, but there are downsides to be aware of. 'nuther topic.

I suggest you learn to row and steer the pair w/o a toe before you learn to toe it.

Take the rudder off and tape it inside for a few months.

1. Find a mile long straight shot and row back and forth doing your training, stay on straight line. Bow is responsible for course. Steer w/ combination of power and length.

2. Communicate w/ stroke. let her know when you are doing steering, minor corrections can be quiet. If you have a straight line for a number of strokes, let her know and she can help. It can be distracting to have the boat suddenly turn on you when you're stroking, a little communication keeps the rowing good quality.

3. As you are beginning, if you are not sure what's behind you, stop!

4. to look around, as you come to the catch, tuck your chin into the bladeside shoulder so you can get a view of that side of the boat thru the bow. On same or another stroke, as you finish the stroke twist your off shoulder past the finish to help get your head all the way around. Try to move your hands out of bow as you are doing this so as not to disrupt the rhythm. When in doubt, see #3.

Once you can steer the boat rudderless, then you can re-attach the rudder, and continue to mostly steer rudderless to keep a straight course, use rudder on turns so you can both maintain power.

Continue to do the other things, communicate, be safe, etc, just as rudderless steering.

[Jay]

Lots of good points above... to possibly go a stage further on one -

As bow you have the extra leverage as mentioned. You can use this to steer by hitting the catch a little harder and you'll easily make a 5 degree course change each stroke. Equally, bring your power on a little later and you can let stroke pull the boat around the other way. This is less pronounced, but still effective. Your blades are great big surface areas working at a point a long way from the centreline. The rudder is pretty small and has less leverage or force, particularly at low speeds.

To look ahead, practice looking over both shoulders so you get the full view to either side and ahead, using the natural rotation of the stroke to help you turn.

I'd try to use the outside look at the finish more often, as you have your blade engaged in the water at that point, and therefore less likely to upset the balance in the boat.

If you have a straight run on a known bit of river or open water, you can sight over the stern to a marker some distance behind you to check if you are travelling in a straight line. This clearly doesn't tell you if there is anything in the way ahead of you, but is helpful for those strokes between looks.

Make sure you chat to your stroke plenty to start with. It's a vit nervy stroking a pair, keeping that rhythm and driving on the power until you get used to rowing with each other. So let them know you are looking, that you've seen stuff and which way you are steering. Get their help for big changes if necessary and keep them informed. They will be aware of the boat turning or not, and they need to know when it should be!

Practice, keep it slow and simple and enjoy it. Pairs rowing is one of the greatest freedoms - simple crew to organise, no need to find a cox, and a brilliant feeling when you get it right!

[Laura Bauschard]

Great advice! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This will be a learning process. So far, the first 2 times toe steering have been pretty traumatic! The boat kept pulling harder on port the entire time, even though my strike port pair and I are the same height and equally strong in larger boats. Among several reasons, could be because I was 1)consistently late to the catch (due to turning around every 3 strokes to see if we were about to crash into a piling/ ferry/ or coxed eights); 2)forgetting that my toe was attached to the rudder and allowing the steering foot to move all around (while looking around for obstacles).
Experimenting using a 2- WITHOUT a rudder is a good idea... It's not like we're racing in this thing. Our sweep coach is using them as a training tool.
I'm going to print out all of your helpful advice & comments... and PRACTICE these tips. Thanks everyone! :-)

[wmar...@gmail.com]

Another reason to put the steering in stroke seat. you can look around and tell stroke to use rudder if necessary, and she can watch the wake and steer straight unless you ask for some rudder. Then it doesn't matter as much if your foot moves as you shoulder check.

[usbrit]

Another reason to put the steering in stroke seat. you can look around and tell stroke to use rudder if necessary, and she can watch the wake and steer straight unless you ask for some rudder. Then it doesn't matter as much if your foot moves as you shoulder check.

I'm not so sure about this. If there is a pending collision the time between asking and the rudder going on could be the difference between contact or a near miss. Also coming from the Tideway in the UK, it doesn't set you up for when you may progress to a 4- (presumably?). If the water you row on is not straight and possible narrow in places, purely from a safety point of view bow should be steering

[Peter Ford]

On Wednesday, 18 November 2015 16:05:43 UTC, usbrit wrote:
> Another reason to put the steering in stroke seat. you can look around and tell stroke to use rudder if necessary, and she can watch the wake and steer straight unless you ask for some rudder. Then it doesn't matter as much if your foot moves as you shoulder check.
>
> I'm not so sure about this. If there is a pending collision the time between asking and the rudder going on could be the difference between contact or a near miss. Also coming from the Tideway in the UK, it doesn't set you up for when you may progress to a 4- (presumably?). If the water you row on is not straight and possible narrow in places, purely from a safety point of view bow should be steering

This logic (that it's important to be able to put the rudder on quickly to avoid collisions) suggests you think all rudderless boats should be banned? I've stroke-steered a pair on the Cam a fair amount, but quite often we were also rowing without a rudder, and I was looking after an inexperienced rower; I was fully in charge of what was going on (not asking bow where other boats were). There is a blind-spot, but (as long as you look at the catch) it isn't ahead of you, and as long as you keep a good lookout you should know whether there are any boats in the blind-spot.

I agree that pairs in general should be stroke-steered, it makes for a far more equitable distribution of the challenges of rowing a pair (stroke steers, bow rows in time), and as has been said it allows the steersman to watch the stern. The only time I've found stroke-steering that bit too difficult was some ad-hoc bumps racing in small boats, then it becomes hard to know how far apart your bows are from their stern when you're about to make a bump.

Peter

[usbrit]

>
> This logic (that it's important to be able to put the rudder on quickly to avoid collisions) suggests you think all rudderless boats should be banned? I've stroke-steered a pair on the Cam a fair amount, but quite often we were also rowing without a rudder, and I was looking after an inexperienced rower; I was fully in charge of what was going on (not asking bow where other boats were). There is a blind-spot, but (as long as you look at the catch) it isn't ahead of you, and as long as you keep a good lookout you should know whether there are any boats in the blind-spot.
>
> I agree that pairs in general should be stroke-steered, it makes for a far more equitable distribution of the challenges of rowing a pair (stroke steers, bow rows in time), and as has been said it allows the steersman to watch the stern. The only time I've found stroke-steering that bit too difficult was some ad-hoc bumps racing in small boats, then it becomes hard to know how far apart your bows are from their stern when you're about to make a bump.
>
> Peter

Wow, I didn't say anything about banning rudderless boats! Mind you pressure steered 2-, 4- and 4x seem to be trend here in the US and pretty much unheard of in the UK.

My thought is if you are sitting in the bow seat you look over your shoulder see something looming up quickly that you're going to possibly hit, your are going to ask stroke to take avoiding action. Human nature tells me that stroke isn't going to stare stoically ahead and apply rudder, there first reaction may well be to look over their shoulder as well.

I've been steering (at bow of course) and seen another boat/bank/overhanging tree coming up fast and have immediately steered away without the crew even being aware it may have been a little too close for comfort

[sully]

On Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 9:05:43 AM UTC-7, usbrit wrote:
> Another reason to put the steering in stroke seat. you can look around and tell stroke to use rudder if necessary, and she can watch the wake and steer straight unless you ask for some rudder. Then it doesn't matter as much if your foot moves as you shoulder check.
>
> I'm not so sure about this. If there is a pending collision the time between asking and the rudder going on could be the difference between contact or a near miss. Also coming from the Tideway in the UK, it doesn't set you up for when you may progress to a 4- (presumably?). If the water you row on is not straight and possible narrow in places, purely from a safety point of view bow should be steering

I am also in favor of bow steering, except on bouyed controlled courses. There is so much better vision from the bow seat. As far as keeping a line,
following your wake is an unreliable technique in any sort of cross wind or waters with currents.

Best to triangulate, I teach picking a low spot and high further spot to stern, and keeping them lined up with you.

The high spot you can see above the crew's heads, the low spot as you catch or finish and heads split. Easier to spot than interpreting the wake trail.

[James HS]

even in pressure steered boats (2X) we do it differently on buoyed courses where stroke does more than bow, and on the river where bow does more than stroke.

when I steer a 4X on the river I bow steer and use less pressure, on a buoyed course (or a henley boomed course) I use more pressure steering with the whole crew responsible for not hitting the buoys/booms!

horses for courses!

[wmar...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, 18 November 2015 11:05:43 UTC-5, usbrit wrote:
> Another reason to put the steering in stroke seat. you can look around and tell stroke to use rudder if necessary, and she can watch the wake and steer straight unless you ask for some rudder. Then it doesn't matter as much if your foot moves as you shoulder check.
>
> I'm not so sure about this. If there is a pending collision the time between asking and the rudder going on could be the difference between contact or a near miss. Also coming from the Tideway in the UK, it doesn't set you up for when you may progress to a 4- (presumably?). If the water you row on is not straight and possible narrow in places, purely from a safety point of view bow should be steering

There has to be a certain level of trust/familiarity developed between bow and stroke in a pair - the goals are the same - train well, probably to race well, improve skills for big boat, survive the row, row as straight a course as the waterway permits, avoid obstacles, etc. The pair and single are the best way (IMO) to develop "boat moving ability" - you can't hide in a single or a pair. FWIW, just about any time a 4- or 4+ that I've coached has won a relatively big race, they've spent most of their training time in pairs and singles. That's one of Spracklen's "secrets", it's what the NZ Summer Squad does, and I'm sure that's what most highly successful big-boat programs do - small-boat training for big-boat racing. People argue that the eight is so much faster than a pair that training has to be different, but really, rowing is a "slow" sport in terms of human-movement-speeds, even at 52 strokes/minute, and if you can make a pair go very well it doesn't take much to adapt to a big boat - e.g., train 6 times/week in a pair, 2-3 times/week in a gym, and 2-3 times/week in an 8+, and I'll bet the boat will go faster than a crew that trains exclusively in the 8+.

Yep, if you want to keep a straight course, as Sully suggests, you can use low-near and high-far landmarks off the stern (as with the start-zone alignment signboards on race-courses) to keep straight. On a lake, you can use that plus some signs of the wake to see any trends, on a buoyed course, you can use peripheral vision and your perspective down the lines of buoys - whether that's pressure-steered or rudder-steered.

Stroke has to trust that bow is passing good information. Just as in the case of an emergency stop, it has to be a trained response - "go port (strokeside)" gets a toe-kick to the right; "go star (bowside)" gets a toe-kick to the left, and the degree and duration of the steer is something the crew develops with practice, without the stroke-steersperson saying "huh? why? when?" exactly in the way that when a crew hears STOP YOUR BOAT everyone pushes their feathered blade under water (don't they?) without thinking, or continuing along to crash into a nav-marker as in the ill-fated school collision in.. was it Oz?

Bow is responsible for the course in an un-coxed boat, but he/she can delegate the execution of the steering function to stroke, in a manner that a ship's captain can tell the guy with the wheel to take a new heading without actually having the captain's hands on the tiller/wheel.

[gsl...@gmail.com]

Normally I stay away from sweep boats, but Ive stroked steered and bow steered 4x's. Both can work well, but it may depend on the individuals. There are some people I would not want to stroke steer with.

[SingleMinded]

We sent a stroke-steered pair to Pairs Head recently. In the race they did as preparation, they got shouted at a lot by the umpires because bow (who they assumed was steering) never looked round.

[Kit Davies]

On 19/11/2015 22:26, gsl...@gmail.com wrote:
> Normally I stay away from sweep boats, but Ive stroked steered and bow steered 4x's. Both can work well, but it may depend on the individuals. There are some people I would not want to stroke steer with.
>

I can't imagine being bowman/crumple-zone in a coxless boat without
having control of the rudder. I would feel very vulnerable.

I have never had a problem lining up the stern when I have been one. I
use my crewmates heads as reference. Seems to work so far.

Kit