Another alternative oar design

[Tinus]

An offtopic response to the topic about the balancepoint oar handles...
...a design which I believe is a better improvement to help prevent back injuries. If on does wish to get rid of the elegance of sweep rowing then do it in this way.


A design in which the oar button prevents movement in both directions. (Probably already patented. If not then let's somebody hurry and produce it because this design could be very helpful.)

Why?

Normally the rower has to push a little bit outward (radial direction relative to the pin) to keep the oar in it's place and to keep the boat steady. Also, the rower has to pull in direction perpendicular to the oar in order to make it move. Added together the rower has to apply a force with a perpendicular component (propulsion) and a tangent component (balance) which results in a force at a slight (outwards) angle to the perpendicular respective to the oar. At the beginning of the drive, up to the point that the oar is perpendicular to the boat, the rower can apply a force to the handle which is the same direction as the boat movement direction (a symmetric force for the body). However after the oar passes the perpendicular position, the rower necessarily has to apply a sideways (asymmetric) force.

How?

- The sideways force at the finish position may be bad for posture (it is common to see rowers hanging towards the outside at the finish) and may also directly induce extra tension to the back. The sideways force would not be needed if the pressure of the button on the swivel could also point into the other direction.
- Also balance at the finish position is often bad because it is the point where the rower both applies vertical forces on the oar and looses attachment with the water. The ability to apply force on the swivel in two directions would increase control on balance and decrease injuries.

Negative effects?

- It would not be possible to easily pull the oar inwards (which would is useful for manoeuvres).
/ However, if the design can be made strong and lightweight then there seem no negative effects on rowing performance and it may be even expected that there are positive effects on performance. Also the design would not violate FISA rules.

[Byron Drachman]

It sounds easy enough to try and it seems like a good idea. Also, for sculling I wonder if it would make it easier to add a little extra oomph and send the boat better at the finish. The river is frozen but I think I'll try it when I get back on the water. Some hose clamps and clams might be OK for testing purposes.

Have you tried this yourself?

[Tinus]

Have you tried this yourself?

I haven't tried. It it is just theory. The problem I forsee in a simple test (putting a button on two sides of the swivel) is that it would jam the oar, reducing the ability to feather easily and reducing the ability to rotate the oar relative to the swivel (push the handle up and down).

One would need a swivel which allows free rotation horizontally but also vertically.

[Rockin Roland]

Your kidding !!!

If you rig your boat correctly and have good technique you would never have a need for two buttons on a oar.

People that have their foot stretchers positioned too far behind the pin have a tendency to pull the oar away from the gate at the finish. So to fix that you just move the foot stretcher further forward towards the stern.

Then there are those that row with poor technique. Too much upper body (usually common amoungst those that spend most of their winter on a stationary erg) will also cause you to pull the oar away from the gate. You need to take the catch with your feet and drive with the legs with a relaxed upper body that only uses the oar as a lever to hang off. If you do it right then there's never any issues with keeping the pressure on gate with the button of the oar.

[Tinus]

Your kidding !!!

If you rig your boat correctly and have good technique you would never have a need for two buttons on a oar.

People that have their foot stretchers positioned too far behind the pin have a tendency to pull the oar away from the gate at the finish. So to fix that you just move the foot stretcher further forward towards the stern.

Then there are those that row with poor technique. Too much upper body (usually common amoungst those that spend most of their winter on a stationary erg) will also cause you to pull the oar away from the gate. You need to take the catch with your feet and drive with the legs with a relaxed upper body that only uses the oar as a lever to hang off. If you do it right then there's never any issues with keeping the pressure on gate with the button of the oar.

You completely miss my point mister red herring. I was not talking about the problem of pulling the oar away from the gate but about problems which exist even though the button remains pressed against the gate. This pressure necessarily requires a sideways force component already once the oars pass the perpendicular position relative to the boat and has nothing to do with wrong rigging unless you claim that proper rigging means the drive finishes with the oars before this perpendicular position. My goal with this oar is to eliminate the necessity for this sideways force component and not to eliminate oars loosing touch with the swivel with those who have bad technique.

[Rockin Roland]

You completely miss my point mister red herring. I was not talking about the problem of pulling the oar away from the gate but about problems which exist even though the button remains pressed against the gate. This pressure necessarily requires a sideways force component already once the oars pass the perpendicular position relative to the boat and has nothing to do with wrong rigging unless you claim that proper rigging means the drive finishes with the oars before this perpendicular position. My goal with this oar is to eliminate the necessity for this sideways force component and not to eliminate oars loosing touch with the swivel with those who have bad technique.

The oar travels through the water in an arc hence there will always be a need for that sideways pressure against the gate. If your rowing correctly then not much effort or thought is required to maintain this sideways pressure against the gate. There is only risk of injury if your rowing with poor form such as leaning away from the rigger or twisting your body at the finish to extract the oar from the water. The extra button is not necessary for experienced rowers and would only be there to mask technique problems for those that are less experienced.

Keeping the oar square is more of an issue with oar design than the sideways pressure. Croker dealt with this by re-designing the sleeves on the oar with a larger square section to help keep the oar in place during the stroke drive. They have also experimented with different collar shapes, plastics and stiffness. I'm sure if they felt the need was there for an extra button they would have added that to their design also. Obviously they thought it wasn't necessary. So for someone who can row properly I don't see the point in adding the extra button.

[Tinus]

The oar travels through the water in an arc hence there will always be a need for that sideways pressure against the gate.

Pressure against the gate is useless for propulsion and has nothing to do with blade travel in the water. It is only useful for keeping the blades in their place and controlling balance.

The pressure against the gate is also not necessarily a sideways force (relative to the rower). It can also be seen as a force component of a longitudinal force.

The extra button is not necessary for experienced rowers and would only be there to mask technique problems for those that are less experienced.

You must not only assess the use of this oar design as a means to mask technique problems but also as a means to allow different (improved) technique.

[Rockin Roland]

You must not only assess the use of this oar design as a means to mask technique problems but also as a means to allow different (improved) technique.

Have you ever used the MAGIK Mk1 oarlocks/gates? Although they are designed for a different function to what you propose with the extra button, they are similar in that they force you to row in a certain way. I tried them for a couple of seasons on my single. They don't do anything to make the boat go in a straight line any faster but rather dictate to you how your oar should move at least during the first part of the stroke and part of the recovery. However, I felt that the tension arm gripping the oar made you loose the sensitvity and feel for the oar. Sure it may have helped some rowers technically but at the same time they masked issues with oar control.

Likewise, I believe the idea of adding an extra button on the oar may help some but at the same time it's going to prevent you from getting a better feel for the oar and learning correct oar control.

[ausrwr]

Hi Roland,

Though what you say is true, I remember a pic of Amber Halliday at Olympics (I think 2004) with a button on the inside and out of the gate.

And as to Mk1s? Not sure how you managed that long. I trialled them in Canberra because Reiny thought it might help my rough sculling. Managed 5k of the outing before I turned it around and changed the oarlocks. Maybe the initial run had tension bands that were too stiff, but for me, they were horrible. Wanted to like them, but couldn't.

[NavigationHazard]

This picture of Houston + Halliday?



Rather oddly, the double button seems to be only on one oar....

Edit: still doing it in 2007: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8806010@N02/1060112866

[Tinus]

Aha, that looks like victory doesn't it?

[Rockin Roland]

This picture of Houston + Halliday?



Rather oddly, the double button seems to be only on one oar....

Edit: still doing it in 2007: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8806010@N02/1060112866

Yes, we're well aware here in Oz of her technique issues. She struggled for quite a while trying to keep her stroke side oar in the gate. No problem with her bowside oar. So her coach had a bright idea of adding an extra button. Solved the problem however they still would have medalled without it. Just shows that even the elite can have technique issues.