Footstretcher adjustments
AKS753
properly adjusted. My feet seem to lose contact with the footstretcher when I
am sitting at the finish. Consequently, I am not getting enough power from my
legs during the drive. Does this mean that my shoes are too low - or, does it
have something to do with the angle of the footstretcher? Any help would be
appreciated.
-Alex Sherman
aks...@aol.com
POWER10
first thought is that you might have set your stretchers too far towards the
stern, i.e., for a taller individual, and that you need to move the stretcher
back towards the bow, a few notches--try until it is fine tuned.
If you have a rowing friend, let him/her watch you at the dock as you come up
to the catch and then move towards the finish. Are you rowing thru the "pin"
as you come up to the catch with legs nearly vertical as you put that blade in
the water? Make that adjustment and then the "finish" adjustment should just
about take care of itself, if your "overlap" measure is OK (Check Davenport
Nuts and Bolts and some sculling texts on measurements here). At the finish
your oar handles should touch your rib cage, so you could push them past that
point (don't want to do that while rowing).
Hope this helps, and have a good row!
Gordon L. Pizor
Head Coach and Assoc. Dir
Wilmington Youth Rowing Association
Gordon L. Pizor
power10
David K Walker
At last I have found someone who preaches that sculling oars should
touch the rib cage at the finish.
My film analyses of the best single and double scullers show they don't
-- they clear the body by 1-5 cm.
Please, what is the source of the opinion that the sculling oar handles
should touch the rib cage at the finish ?
Cheers, David
POWER10 wrote:
... Are you rowing thru the "pin"
Robin Collings
so you couldn't get them around the body. Not sure, though.
Rob.
Carl Douglas
This one has me puzzled. Before attempting diagnosis we need more
information, please:
Is something physically disconnecting your feet from the stretcher (such
as hitting the frontstops with your calves), or are you floating away
from the stretcher near the finish? On the other hand, are you saying
your feet float upwards as you sit at backstops?
??
Carl
Carl Douglas Racing Shells
(for AeRoWing low-drag Riggers & Fine Small-Boats)
The Boathouse, Timsway, Chertsey Lane, Staines TW18 3JZ, Great Britain
URL http://www.rowing-cdrs.demon.co.uk TEL +44 (0) 1784-456344
E-mail carld...@rowing-cdrs.demon.co.uk FAX +44 (0) 1784-466550
AKS753
>as hitting the frontstops with your calves), or are you floating away
>from the stretcher near the finish? On the other hand, are you saying
>your feet float upwards as you sit at backstops?
>
>??
There is nothing physically preventing me from maintaining contact with the
footstretcher. In addition, it only seems to be my left foot that loses
contact with the footstretcher. My foot simply does not touch the
footstretcher at the finish, which prevents me from finishing my leg drive.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to try moving my footstretcher back because
the weather on the east coast has not been conducive to sculling.
-Alex Sherman
Carl Douglas
>
>There is nothing physically preventing me from maintaining contact with the
>footstretcher. In addition, it only seems to be my left foot that loses
>contact with the footstretcher. My foot simply does not touch the
>footstretcher at the finish, which prevents me from finishing my leg drive.
>Unfortunately, I have been unable to try moving my footstretcher back because
>the weather on the east coast has not been conducive to sculling.
>
>-Alex Sherman
pulling on the handle. No pull, no reaction; it's all very simple. So
if you can't maintain your leg drive it seems to me you aren't
maintaining your pull right to the end of the stroke.
You often see scullers & rowers with this problem - they draw a fair
stroke & then, just at the finish, they do a graceful little drooping
action into the bows as the blade comes out. This is because they
haven't sustained the hand draw for long enough to bring the body to a
halt at the end of the leg drive. So the momentum of the body keeps it
moving up the boat until restrained by the shoe uppers
That it is one foot only is an interesting variant which has me a little
puzzled, but maybe you can work it out from the above & what follows.
Many scullers show this finish problem because their finish position
does not seem to them to allow the handle to clear the body: because of
this they fear getting caught at the finish, so they stop their draw
prematurely to extract before the hands "hit" the body. In that case I
would certainly recommend that the stretcher be moved bow-wards, or the
sculler lays back a bit further, or the inboard/span be altered, to
improve hand/body clearance at the finish. Then concentrate on really
drawing the hands until the blades pop out of their own free will
(seemingly). If there is a one-sided problem, maybe you are worrying
more about getting one hand caught up than about the other?
There is no particular mechanical merit in having the hands finish in
front of the body, but a lot of dogmatic talk about it being a bad
thing. Plenty of top-class scullers have done, can & do draw past the
ribs, & it seems a perfectly sensible thing to be able to do.
Hope this helps.
AKS753
>pulling on the handle. No pull, no reaction; it's all very simple. So
>if you can't maintain your leg drive it seems to me you aren't
>maintaining your pull right to the end of the stroke.
>
I understand your point, however, it seems that I have the same problem even
when I am simply sitting at the finish. In addition, it is not a problem that
I had with my old boat, which makes me think that it is a problem with the
rigging.
Thanks for all the help,
Alex Sherman
David K Walker
David
David K Walker
I think your stretcher is in a more sternward position than in your old
boat.