Tag: bowloader

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 25, 2017

Hi! So I’m a collegiate coxswain with about 8 years of experience and I’ve been struggling with fours for a while now. I’m pretty good in eights and have great boat feel, but as soon as I hop in a four everything goes south. I struggle to diagnose problems, stumble over my words, become repetitive, steer poorly, etc. etc. It also doesn’t help that I’m in eights most of the time, so it’s near impossible to fix problems for next practice as the next fours practice might be 8-10 practices away. Do you have any advice?

This is how I feel whenever I get into a four too. The ratio of time I’ve spent in eights vs. fours is pretty lopsided and even now (especially now) whenever I hop in a four, whether it’s filling in for one of the coxswains or actually racing, it feels like it takes forever for me to get in a groove with feeling what’s going on, making calls, etc.

When I was just learning to cox in fours my coach’s advice, which I still rely on today, was to not look at it like you’re starting from scratch anytime you go from an eight to a four, especially since we were also in them infrequently. In my experience that’s what tends to trip coxswains up and cause them to get overwhelmed – that was definitely the case for me. I’d get in the boat and immediately overwhelm myself by thinking about not being able to see anyone instead of just slowing down and using everything I knew about the rowers from being in the eight to guide whatever I was saying or interpreting via boat feel.

That’s why whenever I’m in fours I talk a lot less than I do when I’m in eights. Rowers (at every level I’ve coxed) have pointed it out too and my response is always that it’s not because I’m zoning out or not paying attention, rather it’s the exact opposite – it’s a different environment so I’m trying to focus, feel, process, etc. more and I can’t do that if I’m talking all the time. If I’m talking the same amount in a four that I am in an eight, that’s a pretty clear sign that I’m just completely bullshitting my way through practice.

When it comes to diagnosing problems, I heavily rely on whatever’s been going on in the eight to act as my “baseline” for the four. Before going out or while we’re warming up I’ll usually say something like “We’ve been working on ABC in the eight so now that there’s just four of you, let’s really hone in on XYZ today – the less time we spend worrying about setting the boat the more time we can spend on just moving it.” and then quickly run through one or two individual things that I want them to focus on. By this point in the season you know what’s going well, what’s not, etc. which makes it a lot easier to narrow the scope of practice vs. “starting from scratch” where it seems like every technical issue known to man could be the problem. Plus, the smaller the boat you’re in the more noticeable technical issues are going to be. If you know what to look/feel for based on the stuff you’ve already been working on, that makes things a lot easier for you.

If I knew we were gonna go out in fours I’d talk to my coaches about the lineups, anything in particular I should focus on (i.e. 3-seat in the eight isn’t used to being in stern pair so now that he’s 3-seat in the four, making calls about syncing up with the stroke would be beneficial in the first half of practice), stuff they’ve seen from the launch, etc. – pretty much the same stuff I’d talk about with them normally anyways. Taking the feedback I got from those conversations and meshing it up with my own observations from the eight made getting into the fours a lot less stressful because, like I said earlier, it helped narrow my focus.

Stumbling over your words and getting repetitive is usually a sign that you need to take a step back and (re)focus. You also just need to be honest with the boat. If I know something feels off but can’t figure out what the problem is then I’ll just say that and ask them what they’re feeling. I know a lot of coxswains are kinda timid about doing this because they think it’ll make them look bad but it really doesn’t. Making useless calls and being ineffective in general makes you look bad … admitting you’re off your game today and can’t figure out if what’s throwing the boat off is X or Y demonstrates a level of self-awareness that far too many coxswains lack.

Steering poorly, you can’t really justify or make any excuses for that. You’ve got an unobstructed view and technically that should be your primary focus anyways. If you’re steering is bad/unsafe then that’s a pretty clear sign that you need to slow down, stop talking, and get that sorted out before trying to do anything else. It also baffles me when coxswains come off the water complaining about how practice didn’t go well because the boat was unset all morning and nothing they said fixed it … did you ever consider maybe not touching the rudder every three seconds? That’d probably help.

Anyways, my advice is to talk less (way less), incorporate in your observations, the rowers’ known tendencies, etc. from the eight rather than starting from zero every time, and when in doubt, crowdsource ideas from the boat if you’re stuck on something. Last piece of advice is to talk with the other coxswains regularly enough that you at least have a basic idea of the strengths/weaknesses of the rowers in their boats, that way if you end up coxing them in a four instead of the people who are usually in your boat, you won’t be in the dark about what they’ve been doing or where they’re at technically. This will benefit you regardless of the boat you’re in and it helps make you a more versatile coxswain.

Coxing How To

How to sit in the boat

By readyallrow April 7, 2016

Previously: Steer an eight/four || Call a pick drill and reverse pick drill || Avoid getting sick || Make improvement as a novice || Protect your voice || Pass crews during a head race || Be useful during winter training || Train when you’re sick (as a rower) || Train when you’re sick (as a coxswain)

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to sit in the boat. Seems obvious at first – you just … sit in it – but if you’re working on establishing boat feel or trying to figure out how to not slide into the black hole that is the bow of a four, there are some tricks to it. I’ve talked about these in various posts before but I’ve tried to combine them all here so they’re in one place for easy access.

Bowloaded fours

When it comes to how to properly situate yourself in a four, I see way more coxswains doing it wrong than doing it right. The purpose of these boats (compared to ones where you’re sitting in the stern) is to distribute the weight more evenly throughout the bow and eliminate the wind resistance that comes from having another body sitting straight up. In order to be effective in those two areas you have to actually be lying down. If someone is looking at your boat, they should see you like this, not like this. You being flat in the boat also helps keep it on keel. If you’re sitting straight up like the coxswain in the second picture and the boat is falling from side to side, you are most likely the main contributing factor.

If you’re having difficulty lying completely flat or are avoiding it because there’s no way to prevent yourself from sliding into the bow when the boat surges then you need to adjust the back (or neck) rest to accommodate your height. This is the equivalent of the rowers foot stretchers … they wouldn’t not change their foot stretchers just because the lineups aren’t set and they didn’t row in that seat yesterday or might not row in it tomorrow so in a similar vein, there’s no excuse for you to not adjust the back rest.

If you’re short, move it forward towards the bow to decrease the amount of extra space between your feet and the end of the boat. If you’re around my height (4’11”) then you still might not be able to reach the very tip of the boat with your feet but you’ll be far enough forward that your feet will be closer to the narrow end of the hull which will make it easier to brace them against the sides of the boat.

If you’re tall, you’ll need to move the back rest back towards the stern. For those of you who are more vertically blessed than the rest of us then that might mean moving it back so you’re right against your bow seat’s backstops, which also means that you must lie down as far as you can because their upper bodies/elbows will probably travel in the plane directly over your head. There’s pretty much no way to be a tall coxswain and comfortably cox in a bow loaded four though (at least that’s what I’ve heard from friends) so sacrifices will have to be made.

If the back rests in your shell aren’t the solid planks (which are amazing) and instead are those mesh nets (second in awfulness only to those stupid neck bars that some Resolutes have), make sure that you tighten them enough so that there’s no tension in your upper body when you’re lying down. The first time I coxed a four with one of those I didn’t think to tighten it and came off with the worst headache and a really sore ribcage because I was tensing my body so much to keep myself in a good position to see and not slide around. The next time I was in that boat I pulled the straps about 75% and that ended up being perfect (and not entirely uncomfortable…). If you don’t have one of those mesh nets I’m almost positive you can buy them online from the boat manufacturer but I’ve also seen crews DIY their own from old t-shirts (it involved grommets, carabiners, and thin rope or bungees), which is easier to do that it sounds.

Going back to the “sliding into the bow” problem, it took me forever to figure out how to deal with this. I can lay completely flat in every four I’ve ever been in but if I move the back rest up to the point when I can actually brace my feet against the boat then I end up with my chest right against the steering lever (the one that moves left and right), which as you can imagine makes it really difficult to steer. The solution was to throw an old soccer ball (the smaller ones that are 18-24″ in circumference work great) or a small beach ball into the bow of the boat to put my feet against. This lets you keep the back rest closer to the stern while giving you better control over your body and not compromising your ability to steer. Please don’t listen to your coaches when they tell you to just throw a life jacket in the bow because that’s stupid and not a legitimate solution. One, they’re split down the middle and have a giant hole in them and two, it is incredibly easy to get your feet tangled in them. Worst case scenario, if you flipped and your feet are caught up in a life jacket, how easy do you think it’s gonna be for you to get out of the boat? Not very. Don’t use life jackets.

Related: Coxswain Skills: Boat feel

Eights

It’s pretty easy to brace yourself in an eight but you’ve gotta know how to sit in the seat for this to actually work. You can casually sit in the boat during less intense stuff but when you’re doing pieces, drills, etc. you should make your body is “one with the boat” so you can feel what’s happening and so you’re not getting jerked around. The way to do this is to press your feet into the footboards on either side of your cox box (like you’re trying to push something away from you) while pressing the small of your back (that inward curve right above your butt) into the back of the seat. Doing these two things allows your body to move with the boat rather than in response to it.

Side note, I had a rude awakening when I was coxing in Florida over winter break when I got in the boat and realized our Resolutes don’t have these footboards. I’ve never been less in tune with a boat than I was that week, which was really frustrating for me because I felt like I was missing out on a lot of things the boat was doing. Having your feet flat on the bottom of the hull just doesn’t provide the same … feeling … resistance … I’m not sure what word to use … so it was tough to establish any kind of boat feel when I was in there. Similarly, when we were doing high rate stuff, like starts at 38-42spm, I felt like a rag doll. It took a lot more effort than I’m used to to keep my body stable, despite having what I consider to be pretty solid core strength. So Resolute coxswains … how do you combat this?

When it comes to your upper body, similar to the rowers you want to keep everything loose. Rather than tensing your shoulders to prevent your upper body from moving around you should instead use your core to keep everything stable. (More motivation to do core workouts.) I’ve heard of pressing your elbows into or around the gunnels to keep you from moving but I tried that in Florida and it just hurt so I can’t vouch for that method personally.

The positioning of your fingers/hands is the final component to how you sit in the boat. I know I’ve been talking about this a lot recently but you shouldn’t be gripping the steering cables with a full fist (this creates unnecessary tension in your shoulders and causes you to oversteer).

Instead you should hook your thumb, index, and middle fingers around them (see the picture illustrating how I do it in the post linked below) and then finish by hooking your pinkies over the gunnels. This helps you maintain full contact with the boat while preventing you from oversteering due to the limited range of motion you now have thanks to how you’ve weaved the cables between your fingers.

What advice do you guys have for sitting in the boat? If you’re a tall/short coxswain in a four, what’s your method for positioning yourself?

Image via // @henryfieldman

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 25, 2014

All of the 4s on my team are bow loaders. We have 2 boats that we use mostly for lightweight lineups because they’re a bit smaller so I fit pretty well in the coxswain seat. But lately I’ve been in one of the other shells and I’ll probably be racing in it for most of this year. The bow is longer than in the other boats. The headrest is all the way up but there’s there’s still a lot of room between my feet and the end of my seat. To keep myself from sliding around I realized my entire body ends up getting really tense (which is probably not good). I’ve also noticed that for a few days after being in a 4+ both my hips hurt every time I take a step or try to lift my leg. Do you have any tips for fixing that problem?

Ugh, yes, this is a huge part of why I hate bow loaders so much. They are just not at all friendly to short people. One of the things I’ve found that helps – marginally, but at least it’s something – is to stick a soccer ball or a slightly deflated beach ball in the bow to put your feet against. It helps keep you propped up and your muscles don’t need to be in “death grip” mode to keep you from sliding around.

People will tell you to stuff life jackets down there but a) that’s stupid, don’t do that and b) they’ve clearly never done it otherwise they’d know that it does absolutely nothing since there’s a giant HOLE in the middle of them, they constantly shift around, and your feet can get tangled in them (probably dangerous if you flip). I seriously don’t know a single coxswain who’s found this to be a viable option.

Coxing How To Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 12, 2014

I am coxing our V4 at regionals soon and realized that I have a lot of trouble coxing in bow loaders. I have trouble getting enough air in my lungs between words and feel like I can’t project my voice and can’t use my abs to cox. What would you recommend?

I’ve been waiting for someone to ask this – it seems like it would be a pretty standard problem with coxing bow loaders. Have you tried sitting up more? Obviously not so far up that you’re in your bow man’s way but just a little more than you have been? If you’re down so far that your chin is practically on your chest then that’ll definitely inhibit your ability to take in the amount of oxygen that you need, as well as decrease the range of motion you need to have in order to be able to contract your abs to help with projection.

Outside of strengthening your core (which will help a lot) I think experimenting with how you lay in the boat is going to be your best option. Talk with your bow man and let him/her know that that’s what you’re planning on doing over the next couple of practices and ask them to let you know if you’re sitting too far up and getting in their way (since doing so would affect their ability to lay back).

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 20, 2013

Hi Kayleigh! So a few days ago, we took some fours out on the water to get a good cool down after summer season, but also to get in a good warm-up for the upcoming fall season. I’ve always been used to fours with the handle on the right side, pointing the handle forward to go to starboard, and pointing the handle backward to go to port. That day, I was put into a four with a completely different steering system that I was not used to at all. There was a handle directly in front of me that jutted out from the top, and I would have to move the handle to port or starboard. I was guessing that you would point the handle in the direction that we wanted to go but we did a lot of straight-course rowing so I didn’t get to experiment as often as I would’ve liked to. My question is, what are the different types of steering in fours? And do the same principles apply (small adjustments, not going too hard on the rudder) to all types of steering? Thanks!

For the most part, yes, the same principles apply to all them. Small adjustments are key except in cases where you’re going around a big turn and need that extra “oomph” to get you around. The only real difference between steering a four vs. an eight is that the four is going to respond faster than the eight will since it’s smaller.

Basically there are three types of steering for the fours, all of which we’ve mentioned.

The strings, which work the same way they do in the eights

The lever that is directly in front of you

The handle (or “steering palm control unit”, as Vespoli calls it) that is beside you

The handle steering isn’t one I’ve used but I think it’s fairly straightforward – to steer to starboard you push it forward and to steer to port you pull it back towards you.

Something I learned after coxing a couple of bow loaders with the lever steering is that occasionally they are set up where the cables are crossed, which is frustrating if you aren’t used to it or, in my case, didn’t know that was even a thing. I coxed a Filippi when I was in Philadelphia and could not figure out why the boat kept going to port when I was clearly steering to starboard. Eventually the coach realized that I had no idea what was going on and he told me that yea, the cables in Filippis are crossed which means the steering is backwards to what I’m used to. I don’t know why some boats are like this but the best way to determine how the steering in your shell works is to play with the rudder a bit before you go out so you can see which direction it moves when you move the lever one way or the other, as well as how big your adjustments need to be.

If the steering cables are too loose you’ll find that when you’re on the water and move the rudder an inch or so you might not actually be doing anything to the rudder even though you think you’re making an adjustment. If you find that the rudder isn’t responding much to you moving the lever, let your coach know so they can tighten the cables.

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 28, 2013

Hi! So sometimes my coach will send out my four (bow loaded) with two 20 minute pieces where for 10 minutes there is a certain rate and then the other 10 minutes another rate. My coach normally won’t come out with us or will focus on other boats. I get really annoyed because I’m a novice and all the rowers are varsity so obviously they want feedback on their rowing but I can’t see them nor do I know what they’re doing wrong. I feel bad because during these pieces I won’t talk I’ll just say the rate and time and I can tell they’re getting annoyed and they feel like they’re not getting any better. Do you have any suggestions on what to say and how to keep talking the entire time?

Before going out, talk to your coach about what they want you to focus on that day. Get specifics. Ask them what they want the rowers to be working on, what the changes are they need to make, etc. Write all of that down and then when you’re on the water, make calls based off of that. Even though you can’t see the rowers you can still remind them of what they should be working on. It puts the bug in their ear.

Talk to the rowers. What do they want/need to hear? What specifically about their rowing do they know they need to work on and how can you help them/what can you say that would remind them to do or not do X, Y, and/or Z?

Also work on feeling the boat. Being in a bow loader puts you in a much better position to feel what’s going on compared to when you’re in an eight. When they do something right, what does that feel like? When they’re doing something wrong and you call for a change, what does that feel like? If you know what it feels like when someone is rushing, you can call for a ratio shift or whatever without guessing if that’s what you need to do.

Related: Boat feel

Don’t just say the rate either. Rowers hate – hate – when the only thing their coxswain says is “24. *five minutes later* 24 1/2.” Remind them to stay long, relax the recoveries, push and send, lift the hands into the catch, lighten up the seats, accelerate through the finish, breathe, jump on the first inch, no hesitation around the corner, keep the chins, eyes, shoulders, and chests up, engage the legs, etc. Throw in a 5 or 10 every minute for whatever – maximizing the run, cleaning up the releases, sharper catches, etc.

I would also talk to your coach and ask them if they’d mind spending some more time with you guys because as a novice there’s only so much you can do, especially with no instruction, and the boat feels as if they’re hitting a plateau because they aren’t getting any coaching. At the very least, ask them to give you specific things to focus on while you’re out instead of just saying “go do 2×20 minutes, have fun!”.

Coxing How To Novice Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 18, 2013

I just got picked to cox the four that we are sending to our regional championship regatta after only having two weeks practice (apparently my coach thinks I’m doing something right haha). Anyway, the guys in my boat always ask for more technical calls and I don’t know how to make them when I can’t watch them row. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I assume you’re in a bow loader? Record them! That’s my number one piece of advice for anyone coxing bow loaders. Have your coach or someone riding in the launch record them during practice one day (like, 30 seconds or so here and there throughout the row) and then give you the footage to (preferably) go over with your coach after you get off the water.

Even though you can’t directly see what they’re doing you can still get an idea of what their tendencies are by watching the video. Stroke’s thing might be squaring up late, 3 might need to get his hands matched to the boat speed a little quicker, etc. If you can spot those things on the video you can use them as calls during practice, even just as a reminder call when you’re not sure what else to say. The rowers will be forced to think about it for a stroke or two, which means they’ll either realize they’re doing it and then make the change or think about it and remind themselves to either keep doing or not do whatever specific thing you’re telling them about.

Another thing you can do on your own is really learn about each part of the stroke, the drills you do, etc. and learn what all of the technical intricacies are. During the stroke, what should the bodies look like at hands away, 1/2 slide, the catch, the finish, etc. When you do cut the cake, what’s the purpose, what’s it working on, how’s it done, what must the rowers do in order to execute it properly, etc. When the rowers are tired, what do they have to do with their bodies to stay supported throughout the stroke? ALL of those tiny, miniscule bits of information that you can pull out of each of those things is a technical call you can use.

And my other number one piece of advice when dealing with rowers – ask them what they want. If they’re asking you for technical calls there’s a good chance that there is something specific they want to hear, even if it’s something seemingly insignificant, like reminding them to keep their eyes and chins up. Talk to each rower individually and find out what calls they want to hear and then as a crew, what do they want to hear. They’re your best source of information so don’t hesitate to use them.

Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow March 10, 2013

Hey! I am a novice rower and I hear the term “bow loader” a lot but I have no idea what it means, and I thought you would know. Also, I love your blog – it’s great! Thanks! 🙂

Bow loaders are a type of four where the coxswain is lying down in the bow of the boat (behind the bowman) instead of sitting in the stern in front of the stroke.

The reasoning behind them is that it lowers the drag factor of the boat because instead of having five bodies sitting straight up and creating wind resistance, you’ve now got one less person to worry about because they’re lying down. The only positive to them (in my opinion at least) is that it gives the coxswains an unobstructed view of what’s in front of them which should help them be able to steer a pretty straight course.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 16, 2013

If you’re in a bow loader, how does a cox help the rowers’ techniques? I can feel if the timing or the set’s off, but not much more than that…

I don’t think coxswains should be put in bowloaders unless they’ve got at least a year or two of experience because you can’t see anything. You have to make all your calls based on intuition, feel, what you hear, and what you know about your rower’s tendencies. I know it’s unrealistic to want that but it’s hard for a novice coxswain to get in one and be able to be effective because they just haven’t had enough time on the water to have developed any of those skills yet.

The best ways that I can suggest to be an effective coxswain for your crew is to watch video of them. Every time you go out, ask your coach to take some video of the crew during warm-ups, drills, pieces, etc. The clips don’t need to be that long either – 10, 15 seconds is plenty. After practice is over, spend some time watching the video (in slow-mo preferably) and taking notes on what you see. Whose hands are down at the catch, what does everyone’s posture look like, who is rushing their slide, etc. The more video you watch and the more notes you take, the more you’ll begin to get a feel for what each rower’s individual tendencies are. This will help because you’ll know that during the cut-the-cake drill, Jill is always too slow with her hands away, which tends to make her rush to get to the catch.

Instead of straight up telling each rower what they need to fix or what they’re doing wrong, you’ll be giving them reminders based on what you’ve already observed. Instead of “Jill, you’re rushing into the catch”, which you’d be able to see based on blade movement in a stern-loader, you’d say “Jill, remember to get the hands away from the body smooth and quick, matching Karen, so you don’t rush into the catch.” If she’s NOT doing it, you’ll have at least reminded her of something she tends to do so she can be aware of it going forward; if she IS doing it, she’ll shift her focus to her hands and do something (hopefully) to try and fix it.

Another thing to do is talk with your coach. Ask him/her what they observe about each rower, pair, and the boat as a whole to get a sense of what they’re doing well and what needs improvement. Make notes of the good and bad and when they occur so that during those situations you can say “We’ve been doing a good job with controlling the slides the last few practices so let’s start to shift our focus towards a crisper catch.” That’ll remind them of the work you’ve been doing over the last week on slide control and to also begin cleaning up the catches. As you get more experienced and start to feel the changes, you’ll be able to tell by feel what a crisp catch is vs. a sluggish one. You’ll be able to see it on the video too…maybe the first four catches are crisp but then after that they start to get a little lazy. You can use that in the boat – four or five strokes into a piece or drill you can say “Don’t let the catches fall off, stay on it, grab the water, CATCH“.

It requires a lot of outside work on your part because you’re essentially losing an entire sense, so you’ve got to utilize your other ones to make up for your lack of sight, so to speak. Video of your crew is definitely my number one suggestion though. Watching them on the ergs and taking video of them rowing on there can also be helpful since a lot of erg tendencies will translate into what they do in the boat. Bowloaders can get frustrating because a lot of what you learn about the crew has to happen off the water, outside of practice and when you are on the water, you never really know if they’re doing what they’ve tended to do in the past.

I understand the physics and aerodynamics behind why bowloaders are more effective than stern loaders but I think that unless you have a really good coxswain who really knows his/her crew, the gains you get from them are partially negated by having a coxswain who has no idea what’s happening with their boat. The key is to study, study, study your rowers and figure out what makes them tick so that if you’re blindfolded and they walk into a room, you’ll know exactly who it is based on the sounds of their footsteps.