Newbie again
martin+x@y.z
Went out this weekend again. It was a significant improvement over my
first experience. I rowed about 7 miles and have the blisters to prove
it.
Aside from all the commentary on RSR, I also got a few basic pointers
from someone local who I met through this list who joined me at the
lake. Regrettably, the wind picked-up and wave action was such that
they couldn't stay with their Maas 24 boats. I had no problems due to
the stabilizing pontoons on my rig. That's one advantage, I suppose,
at least at this juncture. It allowed me to stay on the water (and out
of it!) for many hours whereas I would have had to go home after about
a half hour on the lake otherwise.
Moving the oarlocks up about 1/4 of an inch made a big difference. I
can't say the same about reducing the inboard by about 1/2 an inch. It
probably wasn't a good idea to change two adjustments at the same time.
I'll return the inboard to the prior setting for next weekend.
I'll have to do some work on the sliding seat. I have a feeling that
the bit of friction it has is really counterproductive. I checked the
seat on the Maas 24 to compare; a world of difference.
Getting a pair of 92lbs boats back on a roof rack after hours of rowing
was, well, interesting. We'll have to do something about that.
Finally. Blisters. Ouch. Any recommendations here? I wore my
kayaking gloves but they didn't seem to help much. How about these
things: http://www.newgrip.com/rowing.html
Thanks,
-Martin
Kieran
> Finally. Blisters. Ouch. Any recommendations here? I wore my
> kayaking gloves but they didn't seem to help much. How about these
> things: http://www.newgrip.com/rowing.html
>
I wouldn't wear gloves, no matter the design, while rowing. It takes
too much of the feel away from the activity. A lot of good rowing
depends on finesse with the hands, and gloves ruin that.
Search RSR via google groups and you'll find MANY threads on blisters,
and MANY theories. Here's what I do:
(first of all, you're lucky in that you don't HAVE to row every day...
college athletes just starting out have a bear of a time building up
good callouses because they must go row every morning, and the skin
never has time to heal.)
1) If the blister has not popped or torn (i.e. it is still intact),
LEAVE IT ALONE. The fluid will resorb in time, and the skin may turn
into a callous. If it doesn't turn into a callous and it tears off
later anyway, well, at least you didn't have to care for that wound in
the mean time. An open or punctured blister is prone to infection and
needs constant cleaning to heal well. Often, if you let a blister
resorb, the skin will act as a callous for a time, but eventually tear
away. Again, this is better than having to clean and bandage that wound
all day for several days.
2) Which brings us to open blister care... Buy some Neosporin plus pain
relief. If the blister opened and drained, cut away all the extra skin
with a very small, sharp scissors (clean scissors first with isopropyl
alcohol.) Then apply the Neosporin and a band-aid. Keep plenty of
band-aids and Neosporin on hand throughout the day so you can change the
dressing if you get it dirty or wet.
3) If you must go rowing again before the blisters have healed, apply
Neosporin, a band-aid, and then tape them up with *cloth trainer's
tape.* Cloth tape is superior to any other kind of tape for use while
rowing.
4) For sculling, if you're getting blisters anywhere but your fingers
(e.g. you palms) then you're gripping the oar wrong. Some might
disagree with this, though.
5) Warning: shampoo is a bitch on open blisters.
Good luck
Kieran
liz
> 1) If the blister has not popped or torn (i.e. it is still intact), LEAVE
> IT ALONE. The fluid will resorb in time, and the skin may turn into a
> callous.
If you're made of stern stuff, the other way do deal with un-popped blisters
is as follows:
Sterilise a small sharp sewing needle (boiling water & TCP works best in my
experience)
Remove the liquid from the blister by puncturing it FROM BENEATH
i.e. push the needle through the unblistered skin beside the blister and go
up into the fluid without puncturing the lifted skin covering it.
Remove the needle while putting some pressure on the blister and all the
fluid will go out through the route the needle took.
The skin will then re-attach to the underlying skin much quicker and be less
prone to burst during your next outing.
Always worked for me - but understandable if it grosses you out!
liz
simonk
(in article <1164045902.2...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>):
> Finally. Blisters. Ouch. Any recommendations here? I wore my
> kayaking gloves but they didn't seem to help much. How about these
> things: http://www.newgrip.com/rowing.html
Don't wear gloves!
Hydrocolloid dressings are great for healing blisters that have burst - trim
away any bits of skin with a sterilised pair of scissors, rinse in clean
water, then stick a dressing on top. The pain should stop almost
immediately.
You leave the same dressing on for a couple of days, and then magically the
blister will have healed with no need for evil antibiotics. The dressings
are waterproof too, so getting stung with shampoo isn't a problem as long as
you are careful.
If you want to row with the dressing in place you can protect it with
microporous tape or zinc-oxide fabric tape.
The brand in the UK is Compeed, but this looks like the same sort of thing
http://www.spenco.com/prod_2ndskin_blisterpads.html
--
simonk
carol...@aol.com
On Nov 20, 7:30 pm, simonk <use...@simonk.org> wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:05:02 +0000, marti...@y.z wrote
> (in article <1164045902.233856.108...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>):
>
> > Finally. Blisters. Ouch. Any recommendations here? I wore my
> > kayaking gloves but they didn't seem to help much. How about these
> > things: http://www.newgrip.com/rowing.htmlDon't wear gloves!
>
> Hydrocolloid dressings are great for healing blisters that have burst - trim
> away any bits of skin with a sterilised pair of scissors, rinse in clean
> water, then stick a dressing on top. The pain should stop almost
> immediately.
>
> You leave the same dressing on for a couple of days, and then magically the
> blister will have healed with no need for evil antibiotics. The dressings
> are waterproof too, so getting stung with shampoo isn't a problem as long as
> you are careful.
>
> If you want to row with the dressing in place you can protect it with
> microporous tape or zinc-oxide fabric tape.
>
> The brand in the UK is Compeed, but this looks like the same sort of thinghttp://www.spenco.com/prod_2ndskin_blisterpads.html
>
> --
> simonk
If you're getting blisters after 7 miles, there is something seriously
wrong. You either have very soft hands, are gripping the sculls
incorrectly (too tight) or need new grips on the blade handles.
I have been told that you can toughen the skin on your hands by
applying surgical spirit. I haven't tried it though (after 30 years,
my hands are pretty tough - or should I say tough not pretty). Check
your grip - you should be using your hands as hooks, rather than
holding on for dear life. Try waggling your fingers on the recovery,
to make sure your hands are loose. What kind of sculling grips do you
have? I find the smooth ones stick to the skin and cause blisters. I
like the Stamfli type which have a diamond pattern.
Hope this helps!
Caroline
Nick Suess
"martin+x@y.z" <martin...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1164045902.2...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> The other thread got hijacked...so here's an update.
Hijacked????
This is RSR. Nobody ever gets off topic.
Now, you were writing about bass fishing, if I remember correctly....
anto...@aol.com
? Caroline? 7 miles?? It is quite normal for a novice to get blisters
after 10 minutes let alone 10 miles.
Sometimes just hanging onto your leg power created enough force to make
a blister. It's not necessarily a rubbing twisting thing but a pressure
thing.
Jeremy Fagan
>
> On Nov 20, 7:30 pm, simonk <use...@simonk.org> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:05:02 +0000, marti...@y.z wrote
>>(in article <1164045902.233856.108...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>):
>>
>>
>>>Finally. Blisters. Ouch. Any recommendations here? I wore my
>>>kayaking gloves but they didn't seem to help much. How about these
>>>things: http://www.newgrip.com/rowing.htmlDon't wear gloves!
>
>
> wrong. You either have very soft hands, are gripping the sculls
> incorrectly (too tight) or need new grips on the blade handles.
>
> I have been told that you can toughen the skin on your hands by
> applying surgical spirit.
I use surgical spirits whenever I have a week or two out of the boat -
toughens the hands up nicely. I'm told that urine does the same job, but
I prefer the surgical spirits. If the skin's raw, once you've finished
dancing around howling, you find that it's nicely healed in a day or two.
Type of grip (soft vs. hard, smooth vs. textured), and size of handle
are both very personal things. You'll find different results depending
on whether your hand is fleshy or lean, dry or moist, large or small.
Advantage of rowing at a club is that you can try out various types
without having to buy them all..
Jeremy
martin+x@y.z
> Now, you were writing about bass fishing, if I remember correctly....
Right! I was wondering about the proper technique for landing a
largemouth from a shell. How do you do it and not let go of the oars?
Trolling for Barracuda could be fun too.
:-)
-Martin
Carl Douglas
easily, without even a fight. Clearly you've caught the RSR bug badly.
There is no cure!
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: The Boathouse, Timsway, Chertsey Lane, Staines TW18 3JY, UK
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1784-456344 Fax: -466550
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
Nick Suess
"Carl Douglas" <ca...@carldouglas.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ejvl9h$9do$2$8300...@news.demon.co.uk...
> martin+x@y.z wrote:
>>>Now, you were writing about bass fishing, if I remember correctly....
>>
>>
>> Right! I was wondering about the proper technique for landing a
>> largemouth from a shell. How do you do it and not let go of the oars?
>>
>> Trolling for Barracuda could be fun too.
>>
>> :-)
>>
>> -Martin
>>
> Martin - that's just terrible, you letting Nick drag you off-topic so
> easily, without even a fight. Clearly you've caught the RSR bug badly.
> There is no cure!
And he doesn't even have a clue about the long and highly distinguished bass
fishing history of this group.
Where's Sul when we need him most?
And hey look, here's me working Carl-type hours in Perth!
Carl Douglas
I see, from Leo's posting, that you Aussies are already getting
yourselves in a twist over this little matter of The Ashes. We'll be
gentle with you - indeed, we may have no choice in the matter- but let's
see how it all pans out. And I do look forward to you explaining the
laws of cricket to Paul Smith - please ask him, Paul. And, mayhap,
Martin would like to learn the technical intricacies involved in the
yorker & the googlie.
paul_v...@hotmail.com
Fish on! I just want to know about the status of my potential
Ergometer Seats, and the email channel does not appear to work. [;o)
We've got quiet the Eastern Indian population growing here in the
Northwest USA, they seem to fancy this game of Cricket, I've watched it
several times with all the same understanding of curling, though it is
a bit easier to follow. I did think it quite funny when I said to my
wife, with usual wit, "funny looking baseball bat they have there", and
a nearby gent informed me that it was "Cricket". LOL
Cheers,
Paul Smith
anto...@aol.com
When the Scots scored the opening goal against Brazil in the World Cup
back in the 70's, Gordon Strachan ran back to the restart not
celebrating. He thought they had just poked a tiger in the eye.
Sure enough they lost 4-1.
After all the celebration following the Ashes last time.....the Aussie
eyes have been thoroughly poked.
God help England.....there will be some sore backsides over the coming
weeks
John Mulholland
news:1164146179.3...@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
<snip>
> When the Scots scored the opening goal against Brazil in the World Cup
> back in the 70's, Gordon Strachan ran back to the restart not
> celebrating. He thought they had just poked a tiger in the eye.
>
> Sure enough they lost 4-1.
>
> After all the celebration following the Ashes last time.....the Aussie
> eyes have been thoroughly poked.
>
> God help England.....there will be some sore backsides over the coming
> weeks
>
Just where will the Aussie bowlers be aiming?
--
John Mulholland
martin+x@y.z
> fishing history of this group.
Let me add to that. This summer I caught a 12.5lb largemouth from my
kayak. That's not remarcable at all. What is remarcable is how I did
it. The darn thing came up to grab something on the surface just as I
saw it. I smacked it hard with the paddle. It must have stunned it
enough because I reached over, grabbed its lower lip and flung it into
the kayak. My eight year old son was rowing alongside with his kayak.
He couldn't believe it. Heck, I couldn't believe it! Months later he
still talks about it.
The funniest part was the expresions on the faces of the guys at the
dock when he showed-off "his" fish and told the story. I mean, there
were no fishing rods nor did we have any sort of tackle in our kayaks
(one of the rare times that we don't take our gear with us). They (the
guys) had expensive fishing boats with sonars, etc., and no fish. The
moment was priceless.
And I didn't even get a blister (trying to get back on topic here).
-Martin
Mike Sullivan
"Nick Suess" <ni...@scull.com.au> wrote in message
news:45635ed2$0$1576$5a62...@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
>
> "Carl Douglas" <ca...@carldouglas.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:ejvl9h$9do$2$8300...@news.demon.co.uk...
>> martin+x@y.z wrote:
snip
> And he doesn't even have a clue about the long and highly distinguished
> bass fishing history of this group.
>
> Where's Sul when we need him most?
I got snagged by a fisherman while out sculling in
the bay last week.
I think he won the tournament!
kda...@kidare.com
I was out sculling one night when I felt a tap on my back then a noise
like really loud buzzing. Couldn't think what it was other than some
kind of mega-hornet, so I stopped in a hurry, looked round and there
was a fish, slapping and twitching about on the deck behind me. Didn't
even have to whack it, it jumped straight into my boat. Only a small
thing so I threw it back. Made me laugh though, the idea he would go
anywhere quicker by having me scull him.
Kit