A new set of oars are created for the club
Maybe the most obvious question is “why make more oars?”
Our experience at various regattas has shown that races are won or lost by small margins. Good oar design is one thing which could produce faster times, even if the improvement is only a few seconds across 2km. Therefore it was agreed with the committee’s assent, to go ahead with two changes. Firstly to make a set of oars specifically for racing. Secondly to change the pins to a vertical position rather than the current angled one.
What is different about the new oars?
Taking some basic “measures” of oars there are five factors at play:
- Weight. The new set of oars are similar in weight to the old ones, approx 14lbs
- Balance. This is determined by the centre of gravity. The balance is very different in the new oars, the centre of gravity being much closer to the gunwale.
- Stiffness. This is measured by the load needed to deflect the blade by a given distance. The new oars are stiffer, needing 12lbs to deflect a certain distance compared to 9lbs for the blue oars.
- Length. The new oars are 4” longer than the old ones
- Gearing. This is a measure of how much of the oar is outside the boat vs. how much is inside. This is expressed as a % – a smaller % produces a higher gearing. The gearing of the new oars is set specifically at 27.3% (the old oars are all 28+%)
All good theory, but what will they be like to use?
The weight will not have any noticeable effect on rowing, but the balance will. The new oars will feel remarkably light to use. Stiffer oars mean that when you start a stroke (the “catch”) you get an immediate feeling of connection to the water and a solid resistance to pull against. The length of the oar will not be very noticeable (maybe a slightly longer handle?) but the gearing is the big change. It might appear that the % difference in gearing is small, but it doesn’t feel that way! The new oars are higher geared and we will probably need to get used to racing at a lower stroke rate of 27 spm.
When can we expect to see the oars ready for use?
The build group are now finalising details, sanding and beginning to varnish so we are getting close! The next thing to watch out for is Pride of Aln and then Enflaeda being taken out of use briefly while the pins are “re-aligned”.
