Rowing strapless

[Bob S.]

That said I would much rather have a Sykes, Fluid Designs, Van Dusen , Fillipi, or many others instead.

Fillipi---- With a name like that how do they expect to sell any boats to English speaking rowers? I would think that it would bomb like when Chevy tried to sell the Nova in Mexico. My old Maas 26 was flippy enough for me.

Bob S.

[Nosmo]

That said I would much rather have a Sykes, Fluid Designs, Van Dusen , Filippi, or many others instead.

Filippi---- With a name like that how do they expect to sell any boats to English speaking rowers? I would think that it would bomb like when Chevy tried to sell the Nova in Mexico. My old Maas 26 was flippy enough for me.

Bob S.

Perhaps by sponsoring the national team: http://www.eliterowing.com/
Did Maas make a 26? The 24 is an open water shell, and the 27 is a training shell.
Both are fine for steady state cruising but I'd much rather have a Pinert over a Maas.

[Bob S.]

Did Maas make a 26? The 24 is an open water shell, and the 27 is a training shell.
Both are fine for steady state cruising but I'd much rather have a Pinert over a Maas.

The 26 was the first non-open water shell that they built. It came out in about 1996. I vaguely remember something about a later 27, but I don't know what the difference was. I got it because it was the cheapest available at the time. I had never heard of a Peinert until quite recently. Obviously, the Maas 26 was not a top of the line racing shell, like an Empacher, a Stämpfli or a Van Dusen (the popular ones of the 90s), and the rigging setup was a nuisance. But then, I am a very mediocre sculler. I never had a chance to try out a single before the age of 65 and my rowing background was all in heavy skiffs and college eights. Then there was a 40 year gap between the end of my college eligibility and finding out about master's rowing programs. So I was happy enough for a while in the Maas. I had very few sculling races and some of those were not in singles. The best thing about having a single was that it was there to use at any time. I didn't have to be concerned about enough guys showing up to boat an eight or a 4.

I never really caught on to sculling. Navigation was always a problem. I much preferred to leave it to a coxswain.

Bob S.

P.S. Sorry about the crappy pun. It was one of those things that I couldn't resist.

[Cyclist2]

Filippi---- With a name like that how do they expect to sell any boats to English speaking rowers? I would think that it would bomb like when Chevy tried to sell the Nova in Mexico. My old Maas 26 was flippy enough for me.

Bob S.

That's funny, Bob! I have a Maas Aero - a real open water shell. I sold the classic Pocock Teardrop shell I restored and rowed for a couple years because I couldn't row often enough to stay proficient in anything but mirror-like conditions. Now I row whenever I want, get a great workout, and just dream of skimming down the course at a 6 minute pace

[Nosmo]

....The 26 was the first non-open water shell that they built. It came out in about 1996. I vaguely remember something about a later 27, but I don't know what the difference was.

I think the difference is 1 foot

P.S. Sorry about the crappy pun. It was one of those things that I couldn't resist.

Actually I was amused. But I think I just demonstrated a childish sense of humor.

Maas does make a very good boat that fill their niche very well. I've rowed them in the SF Bay a few times, but it makes my wife too nervous when I'm out there so I haven't done it in a while.

[Rockin Roland]

Ranger in a Peinert 26!!!
They are one of the most stable racing singles around. Yet he still struggles to set it and row correctly.
But wait. Wasn't he claiming that he'll win the Head of the Charles for his age group next year?

Yet Ranger reckons his technique on the erg is pretty good now. I don't think so somehow. Sadly strapless rowing on the erg will do very little for your technique in a boat. I'm speaking from experience here. On a stationary erg there is a distinct lack of rhythm as the body has to stop, then jerk to begin each stroke and stop again at the finish with a lot of the kinetic energy going through your lower back. Nothing smooth, boat like or technical about that.

You need continous full range of movement which you'll only get on slides (or dynamic erg). My technique in the boat improved considerably when I stopped using stationary ergs and started using slides. That's probably why I now keep preaching to OTW rowers to avoid using stationary ergs. They don't do your OTW technique any favours at all.