THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

The Ergonomics of Rowing

Getting to grips with how to set up your boat
By Jim Flood

Jim Flood

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD The basic ergonomics of rowing

If you have started rowing and are beginning to feel a bit addicted to it and you want to know more about what you need to know to improve, this article may help you. The aim is to empower you to take action that will make rowing easier by making some adjustments to ensure that the boat fits you more comfortably so you will find it easier to achieve a good rowing technique. Unless you have bought your own boat, you will be using club boats that are often bought on the basis of 'one size fits all'. For example in my club, the size of the shoes fitted in most of the boats are size 11 (45). So if you are about 1.9 m tall (6' 3) and weigh around 90 kg (just over 13st) you will not need to make many adjustments. If you are much smaller (or larger) then, in terms of how the boats and blades are set up, you are facing additional difficulties in learning to row well and I could argue that you are being discriminated against! I've used the term ergonomics in the title of this article because this is defined as the science of the design of equipment, especially so as to reduce operator fatigue, discomfort and injury. So this is not just about comfort, it's also about avoiding injury due to undue strain. A word of warning! You should not make any adjustments to boats or blades without permission. Check with your club about the protocol for making changes or for selecting equipment that is a better fit for you. The aim of this article is: To provide information that should enable you to have an informed discussion with a coach about the changes that can be made and the benefits that could result. To enable you to take measurements that will indicate if the boat and blades are likely to be a good fit for you.

1. Choosing a boat
Your choice of boat could be limited by what is available but somewhere in the boathouse there should be a list of boats that give the weight category. A single scull described as a '70 kg' boat is designed for a rower of 70 kg. This will be okay for rowers between 65 and 75 kg, but if you are heavier the boat will be lower in the water, and if lighter the boat will be higher in the water. Confusingly you might see '4s' and '8s' listed as 70 kg which is the average weight of each crew that they are designed for. If you or the average weight of your crew is 10 kgs more than the boat is designed for, the riggers will be closer to the water. The effects of this are: Limited vertical movement of the blade making it difficult to finish the stroke with the blade handle touching the chest Difficulty in tapping down to extract the blade from the water at the end of the stroke On the plus side that the boat will be more stable in the water and easier to balance

If you or the average weight of your crew are around 10 kgs less than the boat is designed for, the effects are: The handles of the blades will feel too high for comfort The boat will feel unstable and difficult to balance
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THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

If there is no other boat available, it is possible to make adjustments to the height of the swivels so that the height of blade handles is more comfortable see the section on Swivel Height.

Crew/individual too light for the boat

Crew/individual too heavy for the boat These drawings exaggerate the effect but the general idea should be obvious.

2. Choosing Blades
With luck, the blades in your boathouse will be marked either by size or in terms of the athletes who should use them: e.g 'Senior Women', 'Junior Men'. Generally the taller and stronger you are, the longer the blade you will use. However it is worth checking the length of the blades that you or your crew are using different length blades in the same crew can cause problems with the balance.
Length Inboard Outboard

If you are rowing 'sweep' that is with only one blade, then the length of blades for the smallest and lightest rowers will begin at around 370 cm. For tall strong rowers the length will be up to 380cm. This is only part of the story. Moving the collar changes both the inboard and outboard which is like changing the gearing on a bike. Make the outboard smaller and it is easier to row but you have to take more strokes to cover the same distance and vice versa.

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

Summary ball park table for club level rowers (sizes in centimetres)
Sweep oar rowing (cleavers) Small light rowers Strong heavy rowers Sculling blades (cleavers) Small light rowers Strong heavy rowers Blade length 370 375 Blade length 288 290 Outboard 258 - 256 258 - 256 Outboard 204 - 202 202 - 200

You would expect to have lower gearing (shorter outboard) in a slow boat such as a single or a pair, and higher gearing in faster boats such as a quad or an eight.

Clam washers allow a quick change of outboard

These numbers are broad guidelines so don't worry if the blades you are using are well outside the recommended range. For example, when coaching beginners I often give them long high geared blades for two reasons: it slows the stroke down and it makes the boat easier to balance. Remember that these measurements provide a basis for discussion with your coach who might have good reasons for setting up your blades they way they are, or because of a disagreement with the figures provided. It is a case of different sources, different numbers!

3. Sitting comfortably
Okay, you have chosen your boat and blades (or had them chosen for you) and you have the boat on the water ready to go. Sit in the boat with your legs straight (knees locked down), your feet in the shoes and holding the blade at backstops position (leaning back slightly). With the blade (or blades if you are sculling) feathered on the water (or better still, square and floating in the water) and the boat level, you can check the both the position of the footstretcher, the heel cups and the height of the blade handle.

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

Footstretcher position for sweep oar rowing When in the right position, the end of the blade handle should not protrude beyond your rib cage. If it does, move the footstretcher towards you. If the end of the handle can swing in so that it is in front of you, move the footstretcher away from you. Footstretcher position for sculling At the finish position, with thumbs over the ends of the handles, the gap between your hands should measure the same as the width across your knuckles. Slightly more, up to one and a half times the distance across your knuckles, is preferable to less. If the gap is smaller, move the footstretcher towards you, if too large move it away from you.

Height of the heel cups Sitting at backstops with blades flat on the water, check that you can swing your body forward into the catch position.. The aim is to do this with the spine straight and pivoting from the tops of your thighs so that your pelvis stays in line with your spine (a neutral back position). If this is difficult try moving the heel cups lower. The penalty might be that you find the backs of your legs scraping on the end of the slide. If you find that you can swing over to the catch position easily and with good posture, try raising the heel cups to achieve a stronger drive. In general you will improve your leg drive if you row with the heel cups as high as good posture at the catch will allow. If you have small feet and the boat is fitted with size 11 shoes (standard in my club) then you have an obvious problem. Wearing a thin pair of shoes or slippers inside the shoes fitted to the footstretcher is one solution.

Holes that allow the heel cups to be raised or lowered

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

Height of the handles for both sweep and sculling The height of the blade handle should be level with a point about 5 centimetres above your xiphoid process. This is at the centre of your chest where you can feel the end of your rib cage. Generally it will feel easier to row if the blade handle is slightly higher than this position, however it will reduce the force that can be applied in the water so you go slower.

4. Checking measurements
The diagram below gives a range of measurements you could expect to find on your boat. Where a range is given, the larger number relates to larger rowers and vice versa. Note that in sculling, assuming that your hands cross left over right, the bow side swivel will be about 0.5 cm higher than stroke side.

If you have not got a height stick (ask to be shown one), you can check the height of the swivel above the seat with a spirit level, a straight piece of wood and a tape measure. Ensure that the boat is set up to be horizontal on both axes and the swivel is parallel to the boat which it isn't in the photograph! Place the wood in the lower part of the swivel and the tape measure on the lower part of the seat. Take the measurement when the spirit level is horizontal. If clam washers are fitted the height of the swivel above the seat can be changed quickly. To raise the swivel, slide the clam out, lift the swivel up and insert the clam underneath. Alternatively, remove the top nut, count and remove the washers, remove the swivel and adjust the height by changing the position of the appropriate number of washers.

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

It might occur to you that the overlap of the sculling and sweep blades will be affected by changes in the outboard/inboard of the blade, and by any changes in the span or spread. For this reason, the inboard can be adjusted on modern blades. It should be obvious that these checks are made when the blades are at right angles to the boat. In my experience the measurements that are most neglected are the overlap of the blades and the height of the swivel above the water (which changes with the weight of the crew). A large difference from the guideline figures given, can be a cause of discomfort and poor posture.

5. Effect of changes in the span or spread

Be clear about which is which. Span is the distance between the swivel pins in a sculling boat. Spread is the distance from the swivel pin to the centre line of a sweep oar boat. To check the symmetry of sculling riggers it is necessary to measure the spread. What will you feel if span or spread is increased from a position that feels familiar to you? At the catch, you will be unable to reach as far forward.

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

The drawings above show a top view of rowers, one in a sculling boat, the other in a sweep boat. The position of the rower in each case shows the limit of their reach at the catch with good posture. Two positions of the swivel pins are shown and the effect they have on the angle of the blade. It is possible to reach further by collapsing the body forward but this causes a loss of leg drive. In each case an increase in the span or spread causes an increase in the angle relative to the centre line of the boat and a loss in the length of the stroke (it is the same effect at the finish position). A common fault that coaches criticise is 'rowing short'; that is, not getting the spoon of the blade far enough behind the body at the catch and tapping out of the water too early at the finish. In my experience a common cause of this problem is too large a span or spread for the rower to cope with.

6. Stern Pitch of the blade

Stern pitch is the measure by which the spoon of a blade is inclined from the vertical when the blade is in the square (vertical) position. This is measured in degrees with 0 degrees being absolutely vertical. A plus sign indicates a forward inclination of the blade although the + sign is often omitted because all blades should have a positive pitch of between 4 and 6 degrees. Positive pitch makes the blade easier to row with as the forces on the blade tend to push it upwards and to keep it near the surface of the water. Rowing with zero or negative pitch is difficult as the blade is more difficult to control. Beginners will find it easier to row with more pitch but this results in a loss of force so experienced rowers want less pitch.

A blade entering the water with negative pitch is forced downwards

If you have not got access to a pitch gauge, ask to see one and to be shown how to use it. You can also check the pitch at the end of the blade using a spirit level and tape measure. Set the boat up so that it is horizontal in both axes. Clamp or hold the blade against the pin side of the swivel and at right angles to the centre line of the boat. With the spirit level vertical and touching the top edge of the blade, measure the gap at the bottom edge. An alternative method is to use a plumb line hung from the top edge of the blade. If you measure the width of the blade at the same point, you have enough information to calculate the pitch angle. Alternatively read the result from the table below which gives a rough approximation or go to http://easycalculation.com/trigonometry/triangleangles.php

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

Width of blade 21 cm (scull) 25 cm (sweep) 1.5 cm gap 4 degrees 3.5 degrees 2 cm gap 5.5 degrees 4.5 degrees 3 cm gap 8 degrees 7 degrees

It is often the case that equipment used by less experienced crews is older and likely to be worn or suffering from damage that results in the pitch being incorrect so do check it. If it is badly out, there are four possibilities: The swivels have the wrong inserts fitted The pin is not vertical (possibly because the rigger is bent) The swivel is badly worn The blade is twisted (common in wooden blades but unlikely in modern composite ones)

You should not attempt to put these right without permission, and also without the help of a person who has experience of rigging. However, there is a quick fix if only a slight adjustment is required. This is to wind some electricians tape around the top of the swivel to increase pitch and at the bottom to decrease it. Incidentally, most UK coaches check the pitch at the swivel whereas in other countries the pitch is checked at the end of the blade.

7. Pin Pitch
The pin that the swivel rotates around should be vertical (0 degrees) relative to the length of the boat (stern pitch). The lateral pitch, that is relative to a horizontal line across the boat, should be between 0 degrees (vertical) and 1 degree away from the centre line of the boat. A slight amount of lateral pitch changes the stern pitch throughout the stroke. It will increase it at the catch and reduce it at the finish. A detailed discussion of lateral pitch is beyond the scope of this article. But do check it! I have seen pins with about 10 degrees of lateral pitch.

Checking the pitch of the pin with the boat set up to be horizontal

THE ERGONOMICS OF ROWING BY JIM FLOOD

When you visit your doctor these days, the chances are that you will have a discussion about the problem and the various treatment options. This is because the ethos in medical training is now patient centred. Similarly, the training of coaches is now participant focused so hopefully your coach will be prepared to have a discussion with you about how changes to the rigging might help to improve your comfort and technique. When you have achieved a greater degree of comfort, the next task is to tune the rigging so that you make more effective use of your muscular skeletal system to make the boat go faster. Rigging is about optimising a range of variables that interact with each other the biggest variable being the rower. The chances are that you are still confused about aspects of rigging, but hopefully your confusion is at a higher level than before!

Jim Flood jimflood42@gmail.com For an online spreadsheet that gives you all the numbers for your height, weight and experience, go to: http://www.biorow.com/RigChart.aspx For a useful set of general numbers go to: http://www.rowingnz.com/Article.aspx?ID=1572 For further reading, try: http://www.rowperfect.co.uk/shop/nuts-bolts-guide-to-rigging-e-book-162.html (This book is out of print but available in e-book format)

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