New to rowing?

Here are a few helpful tips to get you started. Remember, each team is different and often have a language of their own so you will need to talk to them and make sure that you all understand the calls. If you're looking to develop, test things out and learn more, ask your crews to help you out,  but please and make sure you always have a coach to supervise you and keep you and your crew are safe on the river.

USING THE PONTOON

If your crew is carrying an eight, it's helpful to think of it as a long, bus-like vehicle. Go wide on corners such as the river wall by the pontoon or the base of the ramp. Know which way the tide is going and orientate so that the bow faces into the tidal stream. Once you are positioned at the edge of the pontoon, or on the shingle, turn the boat right way up using the same procedure described above in "getting the Boat out".  Everyone will now be on the pontoon side. Say "Feel for the edge with the foot” (unless on the shingle) and then “Down, strike out” to prevent any part of the boat fouling the pontoon.

When the boat is in the water, remain standing to keep the whole boat in view.  Have the half of the crew whose side is next to the pontoon/shingle fix their oars in the swivels first. They can hold the boat level and steady while the other side fix their oars. Make sure no one stands on the thin skin at the bottom of the boat.  With the pontoon/shingle side holding, tell the other side to get in. They must check that their gates are done up before before taking off shoes and kit, doing up feet, etc. If another crew are waiting to boat, your crew should "adjust out" if competent to do that. As the rest of the rowers climb into the boat, it will sink in the water a small way: make sure that the weight of the boat is not resting on the pontoon side riggers. With everyone in call “Number off from bow when ready”. They will shout their numbers in order. This tells you the crew is ready to row and reminds each person of their seat number. Check the river is clear and then hop in, telling the crew to “Push off” on the bank side. Outings in eights or fours will normally start with half the boat or less rowing. This makes your boat slow, so keep well into the bank, or to the starboard side of the fairway, out of the way of faster crews behind.

ON THE WATER

• Steerers should be familiar with the PLA's Tideway Code, as well as our own safety page and be signed off for the boat they are using unless you are learning and under the supervision of a coach
• To avoid collisions with other boats or grounding, bow-steerers should look round every five strokes
• Memorise where spits and shoals appear at low tide, and the positions of buoys – both the red and green PLA ones, and the big steel mooring buoys.
• Don't “flirt” with the bank. There's usually no need to be in very close.
• If you get caught out and suddenly see shingle approaching in your peripheral vision, (bow steerers) hold the boat up hard (really hard) with the oar(s) away from the bank. The boat will stop quickly and you have a good chance of avoiding contact.
• Practice emergency stops so you know you can do one.
• If you do ground the boat, or get into very shallow water, get out straight away and push it back into deeper water.   

MANOEUVRING

Your boat can be moved around when stationary by using individual rowers or groups of rowers. If you want to move forward or backward slowly, then use ‘bow pair’, ‘stern pair’, ‘bow four’ or ‘stern four’. Being able to stop the boat is also of the utmost importance. “Hold her up!” is the command to use, or in emergencies, “HOLD IT HARD!” shouted at top volume. The rowers will stop rowing and square their blades in the water to slow the boat down rapidly. If you are rowing along at full speed before saying this, it will take you 1-3 lengths to come to a halt, so look ahead! When the boat has stopped, you can no longer steer with the rudder, but you may need to move the boat around. To do this, rowers can either ‘row on’ or ‘back down’.

Rowing on: This is taking a normal stroke in the water with one or more people. When you get someone to do this, the bows of their boat move away from their blade. For example, if you get bow to row on for one stroke, the bows will swing to the left. If you use the 2-man, the bows will swing to the right. It is very important to notice that the boat will also move forward a little way, so don’t row on if you are going to hit anything!

Backing down: To do this, the rower should sit with his or her blade-handle close to the chest, the blade turned around the wrong way from normal and in the water. Pushing the handle away towards the toes causes the reverse of a normal stroke. If you ‘back down’ with your stroke-man or 7-man, it has a similar effect to ‘rowing on’ with bow or 2 respectively. This will also move the boat slightly backwards. If you get tangled in a tree or another boat, back down with your stern pair or stern four (or perhaps people on just one side of the boat) to get out of trouble, rather than continuing to row on.

You must have your wits about you and be decisive. Call the name of the person you want to use, and tell them what to do: it’s simple when you have learnt the numbers. For instance, commands you might use are “Bow, take a stroke!” or “7, back it down!”. If they don’t do it straight away, say it again and be firm - remember you are responsible for the boat. If you want the boat to turn but not move forward or backward, then get diagonally opposite rowers to move together. 

Turning the boat around completely then becomes an extension of these methods. You can get the whole of bow side to row on and the whole of stroke side to back down. You can do it the other way round too, depending on which side of the river you are and therefore which way your bows need to move to turn effectively. For novice boats, you will find that each side has to take it in turns with the other side - this is because they have to wait for the other side’s rowers to move out of the way before they can take another stroke. Better crews may be able to ‘chop-spin’ or use short strokes simultaneously, but don’t try this with a novice crew. Keep an eye out while you are turning, for obstructions, other crews, and potential problems.

LANDING

Flood tide, heading down river, you will be coming from the inshore zone on Surrey. Take a good look to make sure it's safe to cross before moving out of the zone. With the bows already facing the stream you can cross the river diagonally and land without turning. 

Flood tide, heading up river, you will already be on the starboard side of the fairway with Hammersmith Bridge behind you, so will need to U turn the boat to land on the pontoon/shingle.

Ebb tide heading down river, you will be proceeding down the starboard side of the fairway with Chiswick Eyot behind you. Again, take a good look to make sure it is safe to cross, then make a U turn roughly opposite the sailors' pontoon, to bring the boat onto our pontoon. If you "overshoot" turn on to Surrey (the far bank) row up the inshore zone, then cross over once you've passed the St Paul's School slipway. Take a good look before moving out and crossing diagonally to the club. 

Ebb tide heading up river, you'll be in the inshore zone. Again, as you pass St Paul's School slipway take a good look and move out to cross over to the club.

Consider the wind direction as well as the tide. Very occasionally, the wind is so strong that it will move the boat against the tide. In these unusual situations, orientate the boat into the wind, not the tide. The wind will likely also be moving the boat into or away from the pontoon/shingle.  As you approach the pontoon/shingle easy the boat about one one length's distance, aim the bows in at an angle of about 10-20 degrees) and glide in or paddle in with the stern pair or four.  Be prompt so that the hull can be held off the shingle or pontoon and not be damaged. On shingle, it's better to get your feet wet then damage the hull.

If you get into trouble, stay calm and and try again. (Be wary of landing on the sailors' pontoon which is too high for a rowing boat's riggers.) Don’t be embarrassed to ask people on the bank to pull you in. Landing is fairly difficult, so don’t expect to get it right straight away. When the pontoon is afloat and space limited, crews landing have priority on the pontoon, although if other crews are waiting, be as quick as safety allows. 

PUTTING THE BOAT BACK

This is largely a reverse of getting the boat out.  When resting the boat on a rack, make sure it is properly supported on at least two, evenly-spaced bars and rests on a part strong enough to support its weight such as the saxboard or the centre section of a wing rigger, not any other kind of rigger.  If resting on a canvas there should be a shallow V support on the rack to direct load to the sides of the hull. The ridge of the canvas is not strong enough.

GLOSSARY

Bow 1. End of the boat that travels through the water first.

Stern. The end of the boat that travels through the water last.

Bow 2. Athlete that sits in the seat position nearest this end of the boat.

Bow Ball. Ball shaped safety cap that sits over the bow end of the boat. Compulsory on all rowing boats for safety of other water users.

Bow Side. The right hand (starboard) side of the boat. Often marked by a green stripe on the oar.

Stroke Side. The left hand (port) side. Often marked with a red stripe on the oar. 

Bow number. A card attached near the bow that identifies the crew.

Bow pair. The pair in bow of the boat - seats 1 and 2 . They have the most effect on the set of the boat

Bowloader. A type of boat (usually a four) where the coxswain rides lying down beneath the bow decking.

Cox. Person who steers the boat by means of strings or wires attached to the rudder from either the stern or bow.

Coxbox. A coxswain's portable voice amplifier. Also has timing and stroke rating measurement capabilities.

Speed Coach. A keel mounted impeller that transmits speed to the coxswain or coach.

Coxless. Boat without a cox.

Pair. For two sweep rowers.

Four. Boat for four sweep rowers. Can be coxed or coxless.

Eight. For eight sweep rowers. Always coxed.

Single. Boat for one sculler. 

Double. For two scullers.

Quad. For four scullers.

Octuple. For eight scullers. Always coxed.  

Blade Another name for an oar.

Spoon Part of the blade which goes in the water.

Cleaver. Spoon in the shape of a meat cleaver.

Macon. Spoon in the traditional shape. 

Loom or Shaft. Long stem of the blade.

Handle Bit of the oar you hold on to.

Squared Blade perpendicular to the water.

Feathered Blade parallel to the water.

Squaring. Act of rotating a feathered blade into the squared position. 

Pin Vertical metal bit onto which the swivel is mounted.

Swivel Plastic bit of rigger which holds the blade and swivels to let the blade pivot.

Gate Metal bit at the top of the swivel which holds the blade in place.

Rigger Metal stays fixed to the side of the boat that carry the blade, or "aero" section wing rigger mounted above the shell

Back stay  The part of the rigger that attaches from the top of the swivel towards the bow

Front stay The part of the rigger that attaches from the bottom of the swivel to the stern. 

Span. The distance between the centres of the bow and stroke side swivel on a sculling boat.

Gearing. The ratio of inboard to outboard on the blade, determining how much power the athlete can apply through the water.

Outboard. The length of the oar from the tip of the spoon to the outside button. (Or, the engine on the coaching launch.)

Inboard. The length of the oar from the outside of the button to the end of the handle.  

Overlap. The amount by which the scull handles overlap when an athlete holds them horizontally at right angles to the boat.

Head Race. Race in which crews are timed over a set distance. Usually run as a processional race rather than side by side.

Heel Restraints. Attached to the heels of the shoes and to the foot plate. Compulsory safety feature that helps the athlete to release their feet from the shoe in the event of a capsize.

Height. Measurement of distance from seat to point of work at the centre of the bottom edge of the swivel.

Stern pitch. Sternwards angle of inclination of the pin to the vertical.

Lateral pitch. The outward angle of inclination of the pin to the vertical.

Length of stroke the arc through which the blade turns when it is in the water from catch to finish

Fin or Skeg. A piece of metal or plastic attached to the underside of the boat towards the stern. Provides directional stability by preventing sideways slippage.

Rudder. The device under the boat which when moved causes change of direction. Linked to the cox or a crew member by wires.

Button The plastic ring on the blade which pushes on the inside of the swivel. It can be moved along the collar to adjust blade gearing.

CLAM. Clip-on Load Adjusting Mechanism - a device that snaps on and off the sleeve to quickly adjust the gearing, typically by 1 cm per CLAM.

Collar. Plastic sleeve fixed to the oar that the button circles. 

Catch The part of the stroke where the blade is put into the water.

Finish or Release.The last part of the stroke where the blade handle is drawn in to the body. Following this (assuming clean extraction) the boat will be at its maximum speed. Force must be applied to the spoon right to the finish so that water does not catch up with the spoon.

Draw The part of the stroke where the spoon is pulled through the water. Sometimes called the Power phase. 

Drive The phase of the stroke during the draw when the legs are driving downward.

Tap down or strike down When the rower pushes the handle down to lever the blade out of the water.

Recovery The part of the stroke where the rower moves up the slide for the next catch.

Connection. How an athlete's legs applies force to the spoon. Should be made as soon as the catch is taken.

Fixed Seat. Either a boat without a sliding seat or arms and body only rowing with no seat movement.

Frontstops Where you take the catch on a full slide stroke.

Backstops Where you take the finish, legs flat, sitting back.

Slide Metal rails on which the rower’s seat runs.

Stretcher. A metallic or carbon plate inside the boat to which the shoes are attached. Secured with adjustable screws.

Canvas. The covered section of the boat that is from the bow to the open area (where the athlete sits) and from the open area to the stern.

Spinning Turning the boat around.

Backing Doing a reverse stroke to go backwards

Burst. A small number of strokes (usually less than a minute) taken at full pressure in training.

Power 10. A call by the coxswain for the crew to row the next 10 strokes at maximal effort in an attempt to increase boat speed and take water on the opponent.

Piece. A specific interval during a workout. For example, "The third piece of the 5 by 5 minutes was our best."