Do you possibly have three basic tips for someone who might have to start steering a coxless quad? Much love for the blog as well!!
My three basic tips might be the only tips I have for steering straight boats since they’re obviously something I don’t have much experience with, so if anyone else has any other (more helpful) pieces of advice, feel free to leave them in the comments.
Look over your shoulder every 3-4 strokes, give or take, depending on how well you know the river (switching shoulders each time). Only look when you’re at the finish too, since that’s usually when the boat is the most stable and won’t be upset as much by you turning your head.
Pick a point far in the distance, something right over the head or off the ear of the person in 2-seat, and focus on staying in line with that.
Several small adjustments tend to be better than larger ones because the larger ones are usually made at the last minute and result in you having to make additional (more frantic) corrections later.
If you can, when the boat is in the slings, play around with the rudder and see how much movement it takes from your foot to move the rudder various amounts, that way you have a good idea when you’re on the water how “hard” you need to steer to make a small adjustment vs. a large adjustment. When you first get in the boat do the same thing and feel what it’s turning your foot while you’re sitting there. If there’s enough room and not a lot of traffic on the water, ask your coach if you can play around with the steering while you’re warming up so you can feel what it’s like steering (aka moving your foot) while you’re rowing. From what I’ve heard it messes with how you connect with the foot stretchers (scullers, feel free to confirm or deny this) since you’re kind of twisting your leg a little.
I was faced with this last year! Let me think about advice..
1. Be very careful with foot adjustments when steering as one slight over turn can really mess up the path of the boat which can cause great difficulty in races!
2. Be vary of your stroke; I’m not sure whether your steering is in stern or bow, but either way the foot plate is usually adjusted and as I’m in bow steering it caused problems with my stroke because it wasnt the right distance for me as I’m extremely small so I was rushed forward a lot, this upset the balance of the boat and the stroke rate was often lost. Just takes a while adjusting!
3. There’s a lot you have to focus on; timing, technique, steering.. It can be a bit overwhelming but you can’t get too stressed out, try to keep calm and it will all eventually flow over time and practice. My coach recommended in our cox less quads to have another crew member shout the calls, ie. going into firm pressure etc to keep the rest of the crew motivated without giving the steerer too much work.
It is tough and your coach obviously thinks you can handle it and are good to be put in the steering position so try enjoy it and develop new skills! All the best!
These are great! Thanks!