Bow ball tape
Frank
I feel really silly asking this, but what's the purpose of applying
white tape to a bow ball that is already otherwise secure to a boat? I'm
replacing the bow ball on my single after getting it back from the
repair shop (I curse those hidden logs!), and I'm wondering if it's
really necessary to wrap it in tape. Also, what sort of tape would one
use? White electrical tape?
Thanks for not laughing.
Ewoud Dronkert
> what's the purpose of applying white tape to a bow ball
Maybe for covering the ends that stick out of the screw that secures the
bowball?
Ewoud
Utrecht
Tim Granger
I suspect that on the evidence from both clubs I'm a member of, it's
only the tape that's holding the bow ball onto the boat at all...
Tim
Henning Lippke
Frank <frank...@hotmail.com> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
3A84A0D9...@hotmail.com...
> Hey there,
> I feel really silly asking this, but what's the purpose of applying
> white tape to a bow ball that is already otherwise secure to a boat?
> Thanks for not laughing.
Oh no, it is a serious question. I recommend reading what Carl wrote about
this problem not long ago on this NG.
If you can't find it here, go to www.deja.com, they have all messages in
their database. Try searching for 'Carl Douglas' and 'stemball' (I hope
that's the right word. Carl, do you have the time to help with us here?
[maybe re-posting what you already wrote])
-HL
Mike De.Petris
(2:333/608.1) scrisse al povero All :
d> the bowball?
I think it is also to make it a little more resistant, as the screw is
connecting one spot only and when it happens that the ball is hit or pulled
all hte force applies to that spot/the screw hole and damage occours after
few of these events. With tape you connect the ball on the border too, to the
bow and around the screw hole. It also protects the inside from water, and
considering there is an hole in the plastic and in the bow, with the metal
screw inside, it is a good thing to keep it dry.
Ciao, ** *Mike* ** www.interware.it/users/mike/ mi...@interware.it
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Carl Douglas
>> I feel really silly asking this, but what's the purpose of applying
>> white tape to a bow ball that is already otherwise secure to a boat?
><snip>
>> Thanks for not laughing.
>
>Oh no, it is a serious question. I recommend reading what Carl wrote about
>this problem not long ago on this NG.
>If you can't find it here, go to www.deja.com, they have all messages in
>their database. Try searching for 'Carl Douglas' and 'stemball' (I hope
>that's the right word. Carl, do you have the time to help with us here?
>[maybe re-posting what you already wrote])
>
This is a safety issue which, as with other safety issues in our
otherwise rather safe sport, gets brushed under the carpet as too much
bother for tired brains.
The stemball is the only thing which will prevent the bow of a boat from
spearing you in a head-on or side-on collision. While pondering this,
please note that a racing eight weighs almost a ton (in any language) &
moves at over 7m/sec on the surge at each finish.
At that speed an eight packs the same punch as a 7kg (15lb) spear
travelling at 84m/sec (=300km/hr or 190mph)! Now remember that that's
for the case of being hit when you are stationary. Imagine the impact
in a head-on if both boats are doing that speed. Hardly bears thinking
about, does it?
Now go into the boathouse & test all the stemballs. Odds-on that most
can be bent aside by finger pressure. With many, when you do this the
tip of the bow will stick through the skirt of the ball. So what use
will that be in a collision?
Granted that we don't get than many direct spearings. But they do
happen. One guy was nearly disembowelled when 2 (illegally) unlit fours
collided at night in London, UK. And recall Silken Lauman's leg after
she was hit by a pair-oar (I think) in Essen, Germany.
So anything which strengthens lousy or perished stemballs, as taping
them up will, is a lot better than nothing. But the surgeon may have to
extract a lot of tape from the wound.
My firm's invariable practice has been to permanently bond our precise-
fit stemballs onto the boat with a poly-urethane mastic (e.g. Sikaflex).
They then become indivisible from the boat & almost indestructible.
Unfortunately, most stemballs are lousy fits to the boat they're on.
Very often their design prevents the bow from entering the ball proper,
so nothing can stop deflection on impact & the bow piercing the ball's
skirt. And so often these balls are held by just a screw or bolt,
through thin rubber. So the ball might just as well not be there.
Interesting to reflect on priorities:
Regatta officials can get very excited about balls being white (for
photo-finish purposes) but I've yet to hear of a crew being told their
stemball was not safely mounted. Good that safety comes first :-((
Hope that helps -
Carl
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: The Boathouse, Timsway, Chertsey Lane, Staines TW18 3JZ, UK
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1784-456344 Fax: -466550
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
Ewoud Dronkert
> And recall Silken Lauman's leg after she
> was hit by a pair-oar (I think) in Essen, Germany.
Yes, incredible. I recall seeing (a) picture(s) of this, anyone got it
online?
> Regatta officials can get very excited about balls being white (for
> photo-finish purposes) but I've yet to hear of a crew being told their
> stemball was not safely mounted.
I never heard officials at Dutch regattas complain about the colour, but
the fixation is a point on which you can get disqualified. And it happenes
sometimes! Mainly in the beginning of the 2k season, or when exams for
officials are being taken.
Ewoud
Triton Utrecht
djbid...@my-deja.com
Carl Douglas <ca...@carldouglas.co.uk> wrote:
[snip Carl's description of how useless an inadequate bow ball can be]
> Granted that we don't get than many direct spearings. But they do
> happen. One guy was nearly disembowelled when 2 (illegally) unlit
fours
> collided at night in London, UK. And recall Silken Lauman's leg after
> she was hit by a pair-oar (I think) in Essen, Germany.
I've seen part of someone's kidney hanging from the bows of a boat in
our boathouse. I don't want to see the same ever again.
[snip other very valid points about the state of bowballs]
> Interesting to reflect on priorities:
> Regatta officials can get very excited about balls being white (for
> photo-finish purposes) but I've yet to hear of a crew being told their
> stemball was not safely mounted. Good that safety comes first :-((
I'm amazed, Carl. You've obviously been to different regattas than the
ones which I've been to. I've lost count of the number of times that
either I or other umpires on Control Commission duties have told crews
that their boats were not safe to race because of the condition of
their bow ball. Conversely I have not (in recent years) seen a boat
refused permission to boat because of the colour of the ball; I do,
however, remember _many_ years ago when a pot of paint was kept handy
at CC to repaint any ball that wasn't white.
In the Control Commission reports from last year's National
Championships there was at least one case where a crew had to replace
their split bow ball before being allowed afloat (and the coach, who
ought to have been concerned for the safety of his and other crews,
accused the umpire of being over-zealous, as coaches often do in the
much more numerous cases where boats are stopped because of inadequate
or missing heel restraints). Can I please make another plea for
competitors to make sure that their boats are in a safe condition at
all times, during training as well as at regattas.
David Biddulph
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Jelle Niemantsverdriet
> online?
I remember some old issue of dutch rowing magazine 'Roeien' with a picture
from (I think) the 1936 ? Olympics, showing a rower with part of a boat
really through his leg. Don't have it online nor on paper, unfortunately.
Jelle Niemantsverdriet
Groningen
Mike De.Petris
scrisse al povero All :
HL> Oh no, it is a serious question. I recommend reading what Carl wrote
HL> about this problem not long ago on this NG.
The most import thing about safety is that the ball should be part of the bow
itself, any rubber bow attached to the bow with screws and/or tape are under
the risk of slipping away in a crash and let that dangerous bow alone to hit
any flesh encounters on its path.
Ciao, ** *Mike* ** www.interware.it/users/mike/ mi...@interware.it
--
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Gareth Wynn
is a very good thing, and partly as a consequence I am currently trying to
push for a radical overhaul of our club's safety procedures (the safety
officer's job is lumped in with boatman). One of the things I have ben
discussing with friends recently is the inadaquacy of bow balls (before
reading this thread). If it works, I really like Carl's policy of
integrating the bow ball into the boat's construction. However, short of
replacing all our boats wth Carl Douglases what should we do about a number
of our bow balls which seem to be barely hanging on?
As a side point I was coaching a crew a couple of years ago when the cox
almost crshed the boat into the side of the canal when turning. I tried to
grab the end and pull the boat around before it hit but unfortunately my
finger just ended up acting as a bowball. The boat was hardly moving but it
took a big chunk out and hurt a lot.
Oh, just remembered that I did almost the same thing last week but
thankfully managed to grab the side of the boat and avoided both a crash and
injury.
G
Richard Packer
<ca...@carldouglas.co.uk> wrote:
>Interesting to reflect on priorities:
>Regatta officials can get very excited about balls being white (for
>photo-finish purposes) but I've yet to hear of a crew being told their
>stemball was not safely mounted. Good that safety comes first :-((
Can't speak for everyone Carl, but I've seen and have myself sent
several boats back at Control Commission checks for unsafe bowballs
(forgive me for using the incorrect terminology, but it's what most
people know them as) as well as heel restraints. So I think your
comment may be a *tad* unfair. It doesn't hurt to keep reminding
people though.
A posting several month ago suggested that regattas compile and
publish statistics of boat safety failures - not to "name and shame",
although *maybe* that's not a bad idea - just to see how big a problem
it really is. My experience suggests that easily 30% of the boats
checked at regattas aren't safe, and it does vary a lot from club to
club. Wonder what it's like out of competition? Have yet to see if
anything comes of it though. At least most regattas now are doing
100% checks on all boats rather than random spot checks.
Richard
Katy Cameron
djbid...@my-deja.com wrote:
<snip>
> I'm amazed, Carl. You've obviously been to different regattas than the
> ones which I've been to. I've lost count of the number of times that
> either I or other umpires on Control Commission duties have told crews
> that their boats were not safe to race because of the condition of
> their bow ball. Conversely I have not (in recent years) seen a boat
> refused permission to boat because of the colour of the ball; I do,
> however, remember _many_ years ago when a pot of paint was kept handy
> at CC to repaint any ball that wasn't white.
>
> In the Control Commission reports from last year's National
> Championships there was at least one case where a crew had to replace
> their split bow ball before being allowed afloat (and the coach, who
> ought to have been concerned for the safety of his and other crews,
> accused the umpire of being over-zealous, as coaches often do in the
> much more numerous cases where boats are stopped because of inadequate
> or missing heel restraints). Can I please make another plea for
> competitors to make sure that their boats are in a safe condition at
> all times, during training as well as at regattas.
>
> David Biddulph
>
> Sent via Deja.com
> http://www.deja.com/
It has to be said that I have found that the most checks I have ever
seen performed were at Strathclyde Park as happens every Scottish
Unis/Scottish International/Scottish Championships regatta. I have
boated several crews at BUSA when niether bow-balls nor heel-restraints
were checked. As mentioned once previously a safety umpire (for want of
a better name) actually made us push off from the bank when we pointed
out that our rigger was one too many sets of screws up the boat, and
niehter checked our bow-ball nor heel-restraints. Unfortunately I
didn't notice an abundance of checks in the circuit I rowed on at
school, especially for the home clubs. I don't recall the last time I
had a boat checked up here in Scotland outside Strathclyde Park, I'm
sorry to say, but I do try and make sure our boats are safe. It has
been pointed out of course that if there are a number of boats being
turned back for safety problems on regatta/head day, how many unsafe
boats are left behind in boathouses, and how many were fixed just for
the event in question, only to return to an unsafe point shortly after.
KT
Douglas MacFarlane
> In article <hJFx1AAm...@rowing-cdrs.demon.co.uk>,
> Carl Douglas <ca...@carldouglas.co.uk> wrote:
>
> [snip Carl's description of how useless an inadequate bow ball can be]
>
...
... snippage
...
> I'm amazed, Carl. You've obviously been to different regattas than the
> ones which I've been to. I've lost count of the number of times that
> either I or other umpires on Control Commission duties have told crews
> that their boats were not safe to race because of the condition of
> their bow ball. Conversely I have not (in recent years) seen a boat
> refused permission to boat because of the colour of the ball; I do,
> however, remember _many_ years ago when a pot of paint was kept handy
> at CC to repaint any ball that wasn't white.
Was that in the days when the bow balls were not made from white
material? I recall they used, in the UK at least, to be made from
what appeared to be dog toy balls with brass fixing pieces inserted
into them. These were yellow rubber and had to be painted white.
The modern style is moulded from white material, and allows the
actual bow of the boat to be a bit better protected.
Some of the empacher boats seem to have the bow ball built into the
shape of the hull rather than being an add-on fixture. This looks
like it would offer more protection in an accident.
Douglas
>
...
... snippage
...
Philip Barton
along with the heel restraints, the focus of much attention during the
boating on process!
J. Benedict
<dron...@varsity.notthis.nl> wrote:
Using a screw to attach a bowball somewhat defeats its purpose, no?
I used to always glue them on with silicone sealer and, to be sure, wrap
them in tape and down onto the bow sprit.
When I was active, I used to work on nothing but wood boats (dates me,
doesn't it?). I always was a bit sad to cover up that graceful spruce
bowsprit but....
JB
Katy Cameron
bowball's skirt, and is relatively small (i.e just long enough to go
through both bits of rubber and the very thin bow of the boat) how does
that defeat the purpose of it, the bowball would still hit you first...
KT
Jeremy Fagan
especially if it is a 'standard' style bowball, on a non-standard boat.
J
"Katy Cameron" <kaca...@cs.strath.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:3A88133D...@cs.strath.ac.uk...
edgar cove
field.freeserve.co.uk> writes
>Safety seems to have been a very well discussed area recently which I think
>is a very good thing, and partly as a consequence I am currently trying to
>push for a radical overhaul of our club's safety procedures (the safety
>officer's job is lumped in with boatman). One of the things I have ben
>discussing with friends recently is the inadaquacy of bow balls (before
>reading this thread). If it works, I really like Carl's policy of
>integrating the bow ball into the boat's construction. However, short of
>replacing all our boats wth Carl Douglases what should we do about a number
>of our bow balls which seem to be barely hanging on?
Even without counting Carl's specially designed bowballs it should be
remembered that there are two kinds of bowball (at least) available from
the usual sources. One fits a short stubby bow and the other fits a
longer and thinner one. You must make sure you get the right one.
When replacing bowballs on our Club boats I have always fixed them on
with Sikaflex or sometimes Sticcobond (plastic floor adhesive) before
fitting the bolt through them.
--
edgar (remove nospam from return address for e-mail reply)
Mike De.Petris
scrisse al povero All :
c> happen. One guy was nearly disembowelled when 2 (illegally) unlit
c> fours collided at night in London, UK. And recall Silken Lauman's leg
c> after she was hit by a pair-oar (I think) in Essen, Germany.
There is well known story in Italy, where a man had a bow crashing his boat
(a pair) and passing his leg side by side. Fortunately the bow was blocked by
the two leg bones so he was not able to take it out and loose too much blood,
he was able to take tongs from umpires and cut out the bow and take all the
stuff together to the hospital !
Never heard about ? If interested I can find out the original document of the
story and people involved.
Ciao, ** *Mike* ** www.interware.it/users/mike/ mi...@interware.it
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Mike De.Petris
scrisse al povero All :
d> I've seen part of someone's kidney hanging from the bows of a boat in
d> our boathouse. I don't want to see the same ever again.
You are all recalling things from my memory. Two years I was in Bled with my
team for the international regatta and while near the start of my 2X race
I've seen our 2- collision with another 2- (same race) from Split (Hroatia).
The bow ball of our boat did nearly nothing and the bow guy from Split
immediately started blooding a lot, after the hospital and surgery we knew
the bow came very near to his kidney, few millimeters in fact.
The bow ball is important, but steering on race field is too. Bled is a well
know field for us, but still we see big problems with crews worming up in a
zone not so well delimited, and we all know what happens when two pairs
occour to try both a fast start in a narrow place.
Ciao, ** *Mike* ** www.interware.it/users/mike/ mi...@interware.it
--
Vuelan mariposas, cantan grillos la piel se me pone negra...
Mike De.Petris
(2:333/608.1) scrisse al povero All :
d> but the fixation is a point on which you can get disqualified. And it
d> happenes sometimes! Mainly in the beginning of the 2k season, or when
d> exams for officials are being taken.
I've been nearly disqualified in Naples 1978, on the sea field where
Abbagnale used to train, during the night somebody have cut and stolen all
the bowballs of our team, then I was able to borrow one, but umpires did not
accept any other "self made" device, like tennis balls or other taped balls
on the bow.
Ciao, ** *Mike* ** www.interware.it/users/mike/ mi...@interware.it
--
Un rimbambit e' l'ottava parte di un rimbambyte.
Ewoud Dronkert
> Never heard about ?
No!! I want pictures! :)
Ewoud
Katy Cameron
KT