Tag: setting the boat

Things that affect the set: Handle heights

Rowing Technique

Things that affect the set: Handle heights

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Previously: Bladework || Timing

Position of the hands

This is the most basic and most obvious – whichever side the boat is down to needs to raise their hands. If the boat is down to port then ports need to raise their hands and starboards need to lower them. If the boat is down to starboard, the starboards need to raise their hands and the ports need to lower them.

Unnecessary movements or over-adjustments

Once the boat’s achieved a good balance, point it out so the rowers know that this is where they should be carrying their hands. Making a lot of unnecessary movements throughout the recovery, not having control over the handle, or just over-adjusting will make it difficult for the boat to level out and can result in overcompensation from the other side, which in turn makes it hard to figure out if the boat set up because the right adjustments were made or because someone is compensating by adapting their technique.

Not moving the hands through a horizontal plane

This applies to both the drive and the recovery and is easily noticed because the blade will either be up in the air (i.e. the rower is skying) or buried too deep (i.e. digging). A good visual cue to help fix this is to tell the rowers to carry their blade level with their oarlock. This might be easier for you to see from the front than it is for them from the side so make sure you point it out once they’ve made the adjustment.

Image via // @tristanshipsides
Things that affect the set: Timing

Rowing Technique

Things that affect the set: Timing

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Previously: Bladework

Square timing

This is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, thing to spot and correct – not pointing it out is just straight up laziness. You’ll notice this affecting your set the most on days when it’s windy or there are particularly strong gusts due to the wind catching the blades at different times (vs. at relatively the same time when squared together). Make sure you and the crew know where they should be squaring the blade and make the call if you see someone squaring (and likely entering the water) late. For example, we square over the toes, meaning when the handle is over the toes, that’s when the rowers square the blade. Other common spots are half-slide or at the ankles.

Bodies not moving in sync

It’s not just about getting the blade in the water at the same time, it’s about syncing up (in this order) the tap down, the hands away speed, the rocking over of the shoulders, the timing of when the wheels start, the point at which the bodies should be set, the unweighting of the hands to drop the blade in, and finally the timing and smoothness of the leg drive. Making the call to get the catches in together is fine if you’re coxing novices but if you’re in a boat with anyone more experienced than that, your (and their) visual cues should be focused on matching up the body movements. You don’t need to see the bodies to do this either – just make the call and confirm via video review later who the specific culprits are so you can make more targeted calls the next time you’re out.

Lack of rhythm or pace

If the stroke’s pace or rhythm is inconsistent or you’ve got rowers rushing the slides into the catch, the boat’s going to be off keel more often than not. A lack of or inconsistency in the pacing will make it tough to follow and if the rowers can’t anticipate what the stroke is doing, they’re not going to be able to match up the body movements that I mentioned in the previous point. Alternatively, if rowers are rushing into the catch then as they rotate out towards their rigger their weight is going to get thrown down to that side which in turn will pull the boat over (and result in a lot of smashed knuckles against the gunnel as that side tries to take the catch).

Image via // @naomibakerphoto
Things that affect the set: Bladework

Rowing Technique

Things that affect the set: Bladework

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A pretty common question amongst coxswains is “what are all the things that affect the set of the boat?”. I’ve been asked it more times than I can count this summer so I wanted to put a series of posts together that address some of the technical issues you might encounter that can/will lead to balance issues on the water.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list by any means but it should give you some ideas of what to look for (and then from there you can use what’s in these posts and your knowledge of technique, body position, etc. to make the call for an adjustment).

Washing out

Washing out occurs when you pull down into your lap at the finish instead of drawing the handle through horizontally and hanging off the handle for the full length of the stroke. Failing to support your side is not only going to cause your blade to pop out of the water early (because you’re pulling down instead of through) but it’s also going to cause the boat to roll over to your side.

Related: Top 20 Terms: Washing Out

Over or under-rotating the blade

This is common with younger rowers (i.e. middle schoolers…) or novices who haven’t quite figured out how to control the oar yet. Over-rotating the handle will naturally cause your hands to track downwards as you go up to catch which will pull the boat over to your side and then rock it back over as you lift the hands to put the blade in. Since you’ve likely skied your blade here too, what typically comes after that as a result is burying it too deep on the drive (meaning you’d be carrying your hands too high) which will then cause the boat to fall to the opposite side.

Catching or driving with the blade under-rotated will also pull the boat over to your side, in addition to making it more likely you’ll catch a crab when you drop it in at the catch.

Getting stuck at the finish

If you’ve ever been in a boat where someone’s caught an over-the-head crab or an ejector, you’ll be familiar with this one because more so than the other examples, this one really yanks the boat over to that side. If you’re not suspending your weight off the handle then the water is going to control the oar more than you will, which means the handle will get pushed back towards you rather than you pulling it in at the finish. This’ll push it into your rib cage and make it harder for you to tap down and get it out.

Related: Top 20 Terms: Suspension

This is another reason why reminding the crew to hang off the handle is important. Driving horizontally and keeping pressure on the face of the blade all the way through the finish creates an air pocket behind the blade that allows you to tap down and release it cleanly.

Maintaining the set while you’re on the rudder

Coxing Rowing

Maintaining the set while you’re on the rudder

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When you’re steering around a turn and have to be (hard) on the rudder for two, three, four, five strokes, what does that do to the set of the boat (i.e. which direction does it fall) and how do you have the rowers compensate for it?

I’ve had to remind our coxswains about how this works a few times this year, in addition to getting questions about it via email, so I wanted to lay it out here to clear up any confusion.

You basically need to remember two very simple things: The boat is going to fall to the side that you’re steering towards and to compensate the rowers on that side need to lift their hands. This means that…

If you’re steering towards port the boat is going to fall to port. To compensate, the port rowers need to lift their hands for the duration of the time that you are on the rudder.

If you’re steering towards starboard the boat is going to fall to starboard. To compensate, the starboard rowers need to lift their hands for the duration of the time that you are on the rudder.

Once you’ve got your point and are off the rudder then you need to call the crew back to even handle heights. Don’t forget to do this or assume that the rowers will know when you’re off the rudder and do it themselves – they won’t.

Related: So my coach (who rowed but was a coxswain for a short bit of time) has been telling me to only steer when the rower’s blades are in the water… I’m kind of confused by this and I’ve never heard of only steering when the blades are in. Any help please? Thank you so much.

The way I usually call it going into the turn is “on the rudder to port so ports let’s lift the hands for three strokes…” and then when I’m out of the turn I’ll say “OK, off the rudder, back to even hands on this next finish…”. I always specify how many strokes I plan to be on the rudder and I always specify when I want them to go back to even handle heights, that way everyone does it at the same time and at the same point in the stroke cycle.

Image via // Sofia Donnecke

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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What do you do when you’re in stroke and you’re the only person keeping the boat off port and the coxswain won’t say a word because my attempting to pry the boat off the water is throwing off the stroke thereby throwing off the entirety of the boat. Nobody really wants to address the problem, like the coach attributes it to a different technical issue, when really its quite obviously laziness with the handle heights on the recovery.

Trying to pull the boat off of port yourself isn’t going to fix anything and in most cases will probably make the problem worse (as I’m sure you’ve found out). I don’t understand why your coxswain hasn’t said anything about this – they do know it’s their responsibility to notice and point this kind of stuff out, right? Regardless of whether it’s because of lazy handle heights or whatever technical issues your coach is pointing out, the coxswain should be making the necessary calls to correct the issue and maintain the changes.

Related: Coxswain skills: “So, what did you see?”

I assume you’ve said something to him/her about this but if you haven’t, maybe try talking to them on land before practice one day and just saying that they’ve probably noticed how difficult it’s been for you to maintain a consistent stroke rate with the boat constantly sitting over on port, so could they make an effort to throw in some calls during the warmup (and throughout practice, if necessary) to direct everyone’s attention to maintaining level hands, not washing out, catching together, etc.

Related: Setting the boat

If they don’t know what to look for, tell them to check out the posts from the “setting the boat” tag (linked above), as well as the other posts linked in here. If they still won’t say anything, talk to your coach and tell them that the set has been a continual problem over the last few practices and it needs to be addressed but the coxswain is having problems doing that (for whatever reason). If there’s a more experienced coxswain on the team, maybe also ask them if they’d mind talking to the coxswain about how to handle issues like this. The rowers are the ones that obviously have to make the change but like I said earlier, it’s the coxswain’s responsibility to be pointing this stuff out and calling for those changes.

As annoying as it is that the boat is continually down to your side, you have to stop trying to fix it yourself because pretty soon (if it hasn’t already) it’s going to start coming off as you being really passive aggressive and assuming that you’re the only one in the boat not contributing to the problem. One of my friends had the same issue with one of her crews and one of the rowers tried to do what you’re doing except she jerked her handle up on the one stroke where the boat was semi-set, which abruptly threw it over to the other side. This resulted in one of the other rowers smashing her pinky on the gunnel so hard that it actually broke the skin and bone. Lots of blood, lots of screaming, and lots of name calling followed. (If you’ve ever had your finger(s) smashed between the handle and the gunnel, you know how bad it hurts.)

That day the team had a niiice looong discussion on land about how to set the boat, why the boat needs to be set if you want to be able to take good strokes, how everyone needs to make an adjustment when the coxswain says “starboards lift the hands, ports bring ’em down (or vice versa)”, and how the passive-aggressive jerking of the handle needed to stop. Hopefully you haven’t reached that point yet but I’d tread lightly going forward.

Related: As a novice coxswain I still really struggle with the technical aspect of practices. This summer I joined a boat club and spent two weeks out on the water learning to row, hoping that the first-hand experience would help me understand how to fix some common problems. Now that I’m coxing again, I still get really confused when something is wrong with the set. I don’t know what other advice to give other than handle height suggestions and counting for catch-timing, especially when it doesn’t seem to be up or down to one side consistently (like rocking back and forth with every stroke). I was wondering what advice you would give to your rowers in a situation like this, and how you can recognize and remedy some common technical problems.

Your best option for getting the issue resolved is to just stay on the coxswain about making calls for focusing on the handle heights and having your coach talk to the crew about whatever technique issues he thinks are the problem. All you need to do is focus on rowing well and maintaining a pace that everyone can follow. Eventually they’re all gonna have to realize that if you can’t get your blade out of the water because the boat is always down to your side, the pace is always going to be inconsistent and/or they’re not gonna have anyone to follow.

Coxing Novice Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

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As a novice coxswain I still really struggle with the technical aspect of practices. This summer I joined a boat club and spent two weeks out on the water learning to row, hoping that the first-hand experience would help me understand how to fix some common problems. Now that I’m coxing again, I still get really confused when something is wrong with the set. I don’t know what other advice to give other than handle height suggestions and counting for catch-timing, especially when it doesn’t seem to be up or down to one side consistently (like rocking back and forth with every stroke). I was wondering what advice you would give to your rowers in a situation like this, and how you can recognize and remedy some common technical problems.

There are a lot of things that can mess with the set and all of them are exacerbated when the rowers you’re coxing are novices. The most common and obvious thing is handle heights and that tends to be what coaches point out the most, so it’s natural for that to be the go-to thing you call for when trying to get the boat to set up.

Calling for catch timing, even though it does cause the boat to go offset, doesn’t do anything to help with the set (at least in my experience) because it takes the focus away from one problem and puts it on another. People start rushing up the slide because they’re behind the count or sitting at the catch and waiting because they’re ahead of it. Any inkling of thought about handle heights goes out the window, which in turn can end up making the set even worse.

When the boat goes off set and I’m coxing, I usually…

Tell the side it’s down to to lift their hands. If that doesn’t work after a stroke or two I’ll tell the other side to lower their hands a bit.

Change how I say “set it up”. If you say “set the boat” too often it’ll start to lose it’s meaning and people will stop listening, so in addition to tell each side what to do I’ll say “stabilize it”, “level it out”, etc.

Remind them to adjust their handle heights only at the finish. Coming out of the turn at the finish is the only spot where their hands should move; too many people try to make adjustments in the middle of the stroke and that ends up throwing the boat way over to the other side (and pissing off the rowers who just had their fingers smashed on the gunnels).

Remind them to shape the finishes by pulling in to their targets and giving themselves room to tap down. So many people either pull into their laps and lift their hands up immediately after the finish or pull in too high and come away at the same height … and then wonder why the boat’s not set.

Make sure their weight is centered in the middle of the boat and that they’re not moving around unnecessarily while they’re sitting out.

Usually I’ll make general calls for technique and the bodies unless I hear the coach point out something specific, in which case I’ll try to focus my calls on that and incorporate the feedback they’re giving into my rotation of calls. For example, if they say something to 3-seat about getting the bodies set early so they’re not rocking over mid-recovery and diving down with the shoulders at the catch (resulting in their blade going up in the air, which leads to a litany of other issues), then I’ll make that (and 3-seat) the focus of my calls for a few strokes until the boat levels out.

As far as recognizing other general technique issues, that comes with experience, paying attention during practice, and hearing/seeing what your coach is pointing out.  If you hear them tell someone they’re washing out, look to that person’s oar and see if you can see it. (If you don’t understand what washing out is, for example, ask.) From there, listen to see what the change is that the coach wants them to make and then watch their blade to see if they actually make that change. See if you can spot the differences between before the change and after. Remember what the boat felt like during the “wrong” strokes so that in the future when the boat feels like that again you can look to see if anyone is washing out and then make the necessary corrections from there.

Coxing Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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So my team has a regatta next weekend and we have only rowed at all 8s like 3 three times since winter training. When we do there is A LOT of check and the boat is really not set. As the coxswain, is there anything I can say to fix this and help get my boat ready for Sunday? Thanks!

There are tons of things you can say but with six days to go before your race, I’m not sure if much of it will have any noticeable impact, especially since you’ve only rowed by all eight three times. Practice, practice, practice is what you need more than anything else.

In this situation, with so little time before your race, I would focus on making sure they understand what ratio is (and making sure you understand it yourself), why it’s necessary, and how it impacts your rowing (both positively and negatively). Your coach will hopefully do some of the necessary drills with them to help the issue, so when you go through them pay attention to what he says to the rowers, the corrections he tells them to make, etc. Everything they say you can repeat to the rowers when you’re on your own with them.

Related: The “ratio” tag

As far as the set goes, for a novice boat I’d say it’s fairly natural for the boat to be unset the majority of the time. That’s just from lack of experience. Remind them how to set the boat when it’s leaning to either side and tell them specifically what adjustments to make. Don’t just tell starboard to raise their hands, also tell port to lower theirs. Don’t tell them to “set the boat” either with no further instructions on who needs to do what. Always tell them exactly what you want them to do. The set is affected by eight million and twelve different things but handle heights is probably the biggest, especially with novices. Remind them of where the handle should be coming into at the finish, that they need to lay back in order to finish properly, to tap down at the finish to get the blade out of the water, etc.

Related: As a novice coxswain I still really struggle with the technical aspect of practices. This summer I joined a boat club and spent two weeks out on the water learning to row, hoping that the first-hand experience would help me understand how to fix some common problems. Now that I’m coxing again, I still get really confused when something is wrong with the set. I don’t know what other advice to give other than handle height suggestions and counting for catch-timing, especially when it doesn’t seem to be up or down to one side consistently (like rocking back and forth with every stroke). I was wondering what advice you would give to your rowers in a situation like this, and how you can recognize and remedy some common technical problems.

When I’m talking to novices about this I like to tell them to imagine there’s a table sitting across the gunnels that they have to glide their hands across. Visualizing this helps them to not dip their hands and sky their blades coming into the catch. Focus on keeping the handle level, just like you try and do with the chain on the erg. With time and experience this problem will solve itself but for now you’ve just got to be diligent about staying on them about where their hands need to be. As you observe your rowers more and talk with your coach(es) about what you see, you’ll be able to pick out any of the eight million other things that they do that effect the set. From there you can get more specific about what they need to do besides just adjusting their hands.

This whole issue is something that I struggle with explaining to people. As coxswains, we can sit there and tell the rowers everything they need to hear about what’s going on, how to fix things, etc. but there’s only so much we can do. The rowers have to have the ability to do three things: they need the ability (aka skill) to make the change, the ability to focus and implement what you’re asking, and the ability to understand why the change is necessary. Until you have all three of those things, it’s hard to make an impact.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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For the first half of our last practice, the boat was wayyyy down to starboard; the coxswain kept telling ports to drop and starboards to raise oars, so as a starboard I was forcing my oar against the water all the way through the recovery. (Made for a nasty palm blister!) When that didn’t fix the set, I leaned to the port for the second half of practice. This worked but there must have been a better way to do it. My coach said her lineup was bad but was there anything I could’ve done?

In that instance, I’d say probably not since your coach admitted her lineup wasn’t very good. The set is a byproduct of a lot of different things happening at any given time but sometimes the biggest factor is the group of people in the boat. Leaning to one side, even though it fixes the problem in the short term, is never a good idea because it makes the other seven rowers think “Oh, whatever I’m doing right now fixed the set, so I’m going to keep doing that forever” and then they end up ingraining new bad habits because it’s likely that they didn’t change anything and only felt the change you made, which wasn’t really a change at all.

Coxswain skills: “So, what did you see?”

Coxing How To Novice Rowing

Coxswain skills: “So, what did you see?”

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This is one of my favorite questions to ask coxswains. Most see four or eight oars and … that’s about it. When their coach asks them what they noticed during that last piece there’s usually a second or two where they try and think of what to say before giving a super vague answer that sounds something like “Um … the boat wasn’t set and timing was off.”

Remember, we’re the liaisons between the rowers and the coaches. It’s our responsibility to convey what’s happening in the boat so that the coaches know what’s working, what’s not, what they need to spend time focusing on, who needs some extra individual attention, etc. Specifics are what drive our sport. If you say “the boat wasn’t set”, I’m going to respond with “OK, why? What side was it down to? When did it go offset? Was it offset at certain points in the stroke or for the entire stroke? Did you make a call for a correction? Do you know how to correct it? Etc., etc., etc.” THOSE are the kind of observations that make you an invaluable asset to your crew.

When you’re in the boat you should constantly be observing (and feeling) what’s going on and relaying what you see to the rowers. Your eyes should never stop moving. Before you tell the rowers what you see, make sure you understand what you’re seeing. Don’t tell them something you yourself don’t understand. If you see something that seems off but aren’t sure how to relay it to the rowers, say “Hey Coach, I noticed XYZ but I’m not sure what that means or how to fix it”.

One of the best ways to be able to see all of this is to watch video of your crew rowing. This allows you to see the entire eight from the side, which isn’t a view coxswains often get unless they’re in the launch. By observing the crew from the side, you can see what the timing on each side looks like, what the rower’s bodies are doing, where their hands are, if their chins are up, etc. The bodies aren’t something we can see in the boat, so if we can study them externally we can start to develop a better sense of each of our rower’s tendencies. If your coach is able to ride behind you and can get an shot of all eight rowing, you’ll be able to see the timing of the entire crew even better.

THE SET

If the boat isn’t set, ask yourself the following questions. See if you can figure out why it’s not set based on your observations. Don’t assume that it’s offset just because of the handle heights.

When the boat’s not set, is it always down to the same side or does it go back and forth between starboard and port?

Is it off on every stroke or every few strokes?

At what part of the stroke is the boat not set? (Catch, release, recovery, etc.)

If it’s offset on the recovery, is it at the beginning when the rowers first move their hands away or later when the bodies extend? When moving hands away, are the hands and arms moving in an arc instead of straight away? (This is easy to determine based on whether or not the oars stay at the same height off the water the whole way through the recovery.) When the upper body pivots at the hips and moves forward, make sure the hands aren’t dipping at the catch (skying the blade). If the blades are dragging across the water, the hands are too high and need to lower a bit.

If it’s offset at the catch, it’s typically caused by uneven catch timing (everyone entering at a different time) or hands dipping down towards the feet. If the hands are dropping it could be because the heads/upper body are dropping.

If it’s offset at the release, the timing of the release may be off or the oar may be being buried too deep. They’ll know if it was buried too deep when they catch a crab.

Does it start as a slight lean and then all of a sudden drop down at the catch or does it remain steadily offset throughout the whole slide movement?

Are port and starboard exerting equal pressure or is one side pulling harder than the other? This will be one of the easiest things for you to notice since it will effect the steering.

Are everyone’s heads in the boat, with their eyes and chins up?The slightest turn of the head can offset the boat which is one of the main reasons why the rowers are constantly reminded to keep their heads in the boat and their eyes forward.

TIMING

Timing can be a tough thing to see at first, especially in an eight. You have to use your peripheral vision in order to see all eight blades at once, which can be awkward sometimes since it involves staring almost directly at your stroke’s chest.

Is everyone catching, squaring, and feathering at the same time? Point out who is late/early on each part and try to get everyone in unison. If they’re late at the catch, remind them to start squaring up over their knees so that by the time they’re at the catch all they have to do is drop the blade in. Make sure they get the handle down and the blade out BEFORE they feather.

Are the other seven (or three) rowers following the stroke? Is the 7-seat (or 3-seat) picking up the stroke’s rhythm and translating it back to the rest of the crew? Periodically ask the stroke how it feels. If he says it feels rushed, remind everyone else to match the hands, shoulders, and slides as they come out of the finish and if necessary, call for a ratio shift.

Is everyone moving at the same speed? Watch for oars flying back and then waiting at the catch, going slow during part of the recovery and then speeding up at the end, etc.

DRILLS

When your coach gives you a drill to execute with the boat, focus on the purpose of that drill and what the rowers are trying to accomplish. For the most part, this should be the bulk of what you’re critiquing. If you’re not sure what you should be looking for with each drill, ASK. If you do a drill incorrectly, not only are the rowers going to be annoyed because they’re not getting anything out of it but the coach will also be too because you wasted valuable time.

HANDLE AND/OR BLADE HEIGHTS

Is someone skying their blade/dragging it across the water consistently? This goes hand in hand with the set. If you notice this, tell the rower, pair, side, etc. what you see and how to correct it.

PRESSURE

Occasionally your coach might ask “how’d the pressure feel on that piece?” It’s important that you be honest, especially if you’ve been given a specific pressure to row at for the piece. You’ll quickly learn what your rower’s half, 3/4, and full pressure feels like, so if it doesn’t feel like they’re rowing at the specified pressure, don’t be afraid to ask for more.

Also know when to tell them to back off the pressure, if necessary. Warmups are not the time to be rowing at full pressure, so tell your crew to stop showing off and instead focus on what you’re telling them to do. I’ve found through coaching that this is most often the case when you’ve got a boat full of high school guys who just recently started rowing; experienced rowers don’t tend to have this problem.

Image via // @ellendemonchy