How to stop leaning away from rigger?

[ams92]

I have an old fashioned coach (let's just say technique isn't very important to him).

But recently I think that I'm being held back by a bad habit...Usually I'm in bow pair of an eight, so my responsibility is to set the boat. The boat is never really set though...I always feel like it's falling down to my side and in order to counter act this I usually lean away from my ringer at the finish. If I don't do this, then the boat crashes down to my side. Short of changing the rigging (another thing my coach is not worried much about) how can I work on setting up the boat without wretching my back at the finish?

[Arch]

Lean in (as far as you are able), let it crash down on one side, and make the rest of the crew take responsibility for stabilizing the boat. As long as you are masking their failures by leaning away, no one else has an incentive to fix what they're doing. It is absolutely not bow pair's responsibility to set the boat. It's everyone's responsibility to make the boat stable, and the coach's to develop a unified style that translates stability into set.

[petermech]

What Arch suggests can be a quick fix. After the crash the rowers adjust what they were doing. I would add that the rowers should know where to pull the handle into the body. With the boat stopped go the a finish position with your layback, blades flat on the water, and feel where the hands come to the body when the boat is level. It gives you a place to aim for. You can do that just after you leave the dock. If the boat is down to one side during the whole drive it means that side the boat needs to carry the hands higher for the whole drive. If the boat is dipping near the finish of the drive then the rowers are pulling the hands twards the lap as they come into the body instead of the spot they should be aiming for. When you pull the handle low into the body it forces the oarlock down twards the water so the boat tilts to that side. As the boat is down to your side be sure that you are not part of the problem. Be sure you keep the handle up where it belongs as it goes to your body. If the boat is not set at the finish there was a thread on set not that long ago you can search for. I would look to the above stuff first but if your pitch way is off, worn oarlocks, worn sleeves, that can add to the problems. Rigger height set to fit the crew helps. Be sure your footboards are set square to boat. Could be your coach feels the rigging is not problem and that is why he is not worried about it. That would mean the crew needs to focus on what they need to do to set the boat.

[Sarge]

I rowed in the bow pair a bunch on some very very fast boats. Honestly, your responsibility is NOT to set the boat. That is everyone's job. Each and every person on the boat, includiung the coxswain. Everyone sits at the release, blades at natural depth (take your hands off to find natural depth). That is the finish height for each person. Move up to the catch, do the same thing (lighten the hands so the blade is naturally bureid (the top edge should show)). That is the catch height. If everyone pullss to those heights, the baot will be balanced. Your job, as bow pair, is to make sure the boat is pointed correctly, straight off the line and that you don't send a lip down the boat for your 3 or 4 man to hit.

Now, to correct the lean: Widen your grip a little (about 2 inches). Finish a touch in front of your body (1-2 inches) Accelerate the handle sharply in the last 8 inches of the drive, turn the corner with more of a pronounced tap down. You are really protecting yourself at the finish. You think you are setting teh boat, but you're really defending yourself from your oar handle. You lost the pocket behind the blade. As you lean away, you also lose any acceleration at the finish and actaully continue to drag the baot down to your side.

Tilt and twist. Make an effort to look down the outside shoulder of the guy in front of (as long as you aren't in the back of a bucket) and try to look at stroke's (if you are port and port stroked) or seven's (if you are starboard and starboard stroked) button. That will require you to lean in and get the proper twist.

These issues are very solve-able. The first is committing to the finsh and accelerationg the handle.

[platypus]

The bow seat is one of the most difficult seats to row in an 8+. As it's a fast boat and your following 7 other rowers, often one can get the feeling like your getting left behind around the back turn. Consequently you end up leaning away from the rigger and running your oar along the water. It's not uncommon to see the bowman of an 8+, being the only person in the crew, running their oar along the water.

Fixing the problem requires a combination of rigging and technique adjustments. So that you don't get the feeling of being left behind make sure that your footstretcher is set in a position where you are not behind the work arc. Next make sure that your feet always have pressure contact with the footstretcher during the stroke. Raise the height of your gate to give yourself more room at the finish(draw up) to allow your hands to get around the back turn.

If your crew is dumping their weight into the bow at the finish then bowman is going to be the most adversely affected person in the crew. You'll then really need to concentrate on getting quick hands around the back turn with your body following your hands out of the bow together. Finally, from the waist up, relax the upper part of your body. Think of your lower part of the body as the suspension in an off road vehicle pivoting and flexing(without twisting your lower back) to absorb all the rocking in the boat while your upper body remains calm, straight, upright and relaxed.