With Two Oars (Book)

Reflections on Sculling

by William B. Irvine

My book review and notes.

It’s a good book, not very long, filled with sculling info. A significant part of the book is based upon the author’s belief that most rowers are afraid of capsizing or flipping and that this adversely affects their stroke.

The author recommends a very large stroke angle, a catch angle of 65 degrees and a release angle of 43 degrees, 108 degrees of total motion.

“Set” is defined as a stable boat.

Boats should be rowed with perfect symmetry.

Most of part one deals with the fear of flipping. Author believes the fear of flipping causes rowers to keep their blades too close to the water in an effort to put them back in the water and stabilize the boat to keep from flipping.

Various tap drills are discussed. The rower taps the oars to make the boat less stable during different phases of the stroke to try to overcome the fear of flipping.

Part two is a dissection of the four parts of the rowing stroke and how to execute them

Chapter 7, Catch

Early roll-up vs late roll-up, when you start rotating your hands, late roll-up offers less wind resistance Going downwind, consider not feathering

Slide until shins are vertical

Bend at waist

Hands outside the hull

60 degree catch angle, shorter rowers need to bend more

Reaching farther with one hand arguably best way to turn a boat

Match speed of blades to water or you splash

Shallow catch makes a tearing sound, shallow then deep makes a kerplunk

Chapter 8, Drive

Don’t extend legs without pulling on oars, this is a wasteful motion called slide shooting

Flex back, will cause chest to puff out, be proud of your rowing!

Keep chin up during catch helps with back flex

Start drive by “opening angle between torso and boat.” When blades submerged, start pushing with legs.

Don’t row asymmetrically or too deep. Keep blades at their “flotation depth.”

Find flotation depth at catch, then at release. These are your targets, move hands in a straight line between these points. This is called rowing with level hands.

Rowing at flotation depth is usually deep at first, then at flotation depth. A false goal but useful.

Or, row as shallow as you silently can. Tearing noise at if too shallow ar first, or gurgling if too shallow at middle or end, should be avoided.If silent you could be too deep, try lowering hands until you find noise then go deeper.

During the drive, relax wrists and hands except for joint of thumb and last two joints of fingers. In the start of the drive elbows relaxed, don’t “break your elbows” in the early part of the drive.

Several pages on relaxation during the drive.

Chapter 9, Release

At release thumbs should be close, but not in contact with ribs.

Stretcher position: Sit, legs fully extended, sitting perfectly upright, pull oar handles back until they touch abdomen several (8) inches apart. With layback, about 12 inches. About 34 inches at catch

Chapter 10, Recovery

References: Rowing Biomechanics Newsletter