Rigging a 1x

[jamesg]

I've always had trouble trying to shift my boat, because of lack of strength, and probably wrong gearing. I'm 66y, 188 (6'2) and can pull a 2k (on the erg) in around 7:40 now. I use smoothies and have cut them down to about 40cm length. The boat's a Filippi Italia S.

The water is completely dead and I think my catch is quick.
As far as I remember from last year I reach the work but not through.

I'd be very grateful for any suggestions as to span, inboard, outboard cm.

[PaulS]

I've always had trouble trying to shift my boat, because of lack of strength, and probably wrong gearing. I'm 66y, 188 (6'2) and can pull a 2k (on the erg) in around 7:40 now. I use smoothies and have cut them down to about 40cm length. The boat's a Filippi Italia S.

The water is completely dead and I think my catch is quick.
As far as I remember from last year I reach the work but not through.

I'd be very grateful for any suggestions as to span, inboard, outboard cm.

Hi James,

Nice boat!

We've been doing some playing around with rigging lately and one thing that is seeming to work out very well, but in a way that I did not foresee, was to increase the span and reduce the inboard.

When rigging, it is most important to get the pins vertical and symetrical about the centerline of the tracks, the precise span is nice to have but largely unimportant, especially when the boat is for presonal use and you have complete control over the oars being used. i.e. as long as the pins are symetric to either side, it's easier to move the collar to get the exact overlap you are comfortable with than setting the oars and trying to move the pins around by small amounts. So if you come out to a 1:61.4 span that is well centered and the pins are vertical, don't mess with it just to get to 161cm precisely, it's not worth the trouble. As for the inboard, you should get yourself 2 pairs of CLAMS from C2, so that it is easy to change the inboard +/-1cm while out on the water.

While testing inboards we set the collar so that 1 CLAM is the 'norm' and it can be either added to or removed. The only concern is that when using CLAMS, the outboard is lengthened when the inboard is shortened, but it is good enough for testing. I'm finding that a certain amount of outboard seems to be critical in level of comfort. The newest adjustment ssytem by C2 would allow inboard to be changed without changing the outboard as long as you take along the appropriate screw drivers in the boat.

A recent Rowing Biomechanics Newsletter discusses how minor an influence that span is, at least as geometry is concerned. But they do make a relatively good point that "span does not change gearing". I say relativey, because in fact it does change it very slightly due to the differential efficiency of the blade at varying angles of attack. The RBN was very focused on the Inboard/outboard ratio when making the declaration, and of course in that respect there would be no change by simply altering the location of the pin as a first order fulcrum (which it isn't, and why it's more complicated than they imply).

Over all, the goal of rigging is to make the working environment as comfortable for you as possible. If I were going from a point of view that you were starting from the beginning, set the pins wide, vertical, and symetric about the tracks. Set a reasonable outboard which would be in the 2m range, and then tune in the inboard that you feel comfortable with.
Pitch inserts for the oarlocks have been a great invention, going with a lot of pitch is easier to deal with than too little, so during the early testing, go with 6 or 7 deg, you may find that you like the support it offers during the drive. Once the inboard/outboard has been settled on, then back off a degree at a time and see if you remain comfortable.

No problem with getting to tools to work with what you've got.

For team/club boats, there will certainly be standards that we all just have to be able to put to use, but that doesn't mean any of those standards are really quite right for the variety of oarsmen that occupy the seats.

[jamesg]

Thanks for the data, very useful. The boat's a beaut, I didn't want to be chewing my fingers off the day after buying a slow hulk, but all the same it's hard work to make her sing.

I'm about halfway through the adjustments you describe, and will try the clams a bit more carefully, I have a pair. I'll also check the spoons again, I'm not sure now how much I chopped off. The span is already as wide as possible, around 160, but as you say that doesn't affect the leverage directly. Think I'll restart from the easy end with short outboard and lots of overlap; too little work is not likely to be a problem at my age, just I do like to see those bubbles.

Ta again.

[PaulS]

Thanks for the data, very useful. The boat's a beaut, I didn't want to be chewing my fingers off the day after buying a slow hulk, but all the same it's hard work to make her sing.

I'm about halfway through the adjustments you describe, and will try the clams a bit more carefully, I have a pair. I'll also check the spoons again, I'm not sure now how much I chopped off. The span is already as wide as possible, around 160, but as you say that doesn't affect the leverage directly. Think I'll restart from the easy end with short outboard and lots of overlap; too little work is not likely to be a problem at my age, just I do like to see those bubbles.

Ta again.

Careful with the generous overlap, while it may seem like it is going to reduce the workload, it is likely to make it necessary to have that workload happen over a shorter period of time. By having a lot of inboard it moves you toward the bow to be able to clear your body easily with the handles, and this in turn reduces the catch angle and forces you to work in the less efficient regions of the blade arc. For a 160cm span, shorten your overall length to 285cm, and set the collar for 84cm inboard (85cm inboard with the CLAM).

I think you will like the 84cm inboard, or perhaps even shorter, but you will probably want to shorten the overall length a bit, keeping the outboard to 200cm or just under. You may also be able to reduce the height of the work under this configuration.

[becz]

When rigging, it is most important to get the pins vertical and symetrical about the centerline of the tracks

Paul - This part of your discussion caught my eye. I usually see (and set) the pin with 1 degree or so of outboard lateral pitch. This gives a variation in pitch between catch and release to get better "grip" at the catch and an easier release at the finish (I'm sure you know this, but just thought I'd include it for those who don't). Just curious as to how you prefer to set this up when rigging.

[PaulS]

When rigging, it is most important to get the pins vertical and symetrical about the centerline of the tracks

Paul - This part of your discussion caught my eye. I usually see (and set) the pin with 1 degree or so of outboard lateral pitch. This gives a variation in pitch between catch and release to get better "grip" at the catch and an easier release at the finish (I'm sure you know this, but just thought I'd include it for those who don't). Just curious as to how you prefer to set this up when rigging.

Yes, familiar with the concept of latteral pitch. Though tie it more to a time before we had C2 oarlocks with inserts. A vertical pin will give a uniform pitch throughout the entire stroke, and having latteral pitch will increase the pitch at the catch. I'm not sure how this allows for a "better grip" at the catch, though it does provide some error correction for what might be a deep catch. I've heard that some find this more comfortable, which is a good thing, though working to make a catch that places the blade precisely where one wants it may be a better long term solution.

The lateral pitch can provide a bit more upward support of the blade, but also note that if the pins are set to vertical and the boat happens to tilt 1deg to port, there is the same effect of having latteral pitch, with more support being on the port side that can help to relevel the boat quickly as the drive begins.

I've tried both having 1deg and 0deg latteral pitch on the pin, and it wasn't something that seemed to make much difference one way or the other to me. Though I am fairly sensitive to changing the pitch inserts, it takes a few minutes to learn the motions of a 1 deg change, but as long as both sides are the same all is well in short order. OTOH, if the pitch is different, I've yet to deal with that well, usually resulting in a frustrating outing in a club 1x that I "assumed" was rigged okay, only to return and find the problem with the appropriate tools. I take out club singles so infrequently that I tend to figure it's due to lack of practice as the first problem, and that's usually true, but after about 30 minutes of frustration I finally clue in that there might just be an equipment issue.

Today, 4-5deg pitch seems to be the norm, but it used to be more in the 6-8deg range (4 at the oarlock and 2-4 in the oar itself). Most oars these days come with 0 pitch from the factories, yet we seem to have preserved the 4deg at the oarlock. I'd guess that the blade designers/engineers take that into account for the effective use of the tools. For instance, C2 smoothies have an upper lip that tends to keep the blade riding near the surface, but the major flat of the blade has negative pitch that will net a near vertical blade when in a 4deg oarlock. Other blade faces really do end up with positive pitch when in the oarlock and stay at the depth they are placed when being drawn through.

I suppose there are all sorts of variables to deal with, and our duty as riggers is to at least provide the least variable rigging we can, then we can be much more sure that the source of problems is the rower and not the rigging when suggesting a remedy. If the rigging is not consistent, then the "weird" behaviors we are seeing could well be exactly what needs to be done to deal with it, and imploring a correction from the rower is going down the wrong road, albeit for what we percieve to be the right reasons.


Short Version:
I prefer the vertical pin, so that regardless of catch angle in a set boat, everyone will be dealing with the same pitch, as determined by the insert.

[becz]

Thanks for the explanation.

All I meant by "better grip" is the well known fact that with a little higher pitch at the catch, the oar enters a little easier and holds a little better, as discussed on page 24 here: http://www.worldrowing.com/medias/docs/media_350417.pdf. I wasn't referring to an attempt to mask technique problems.

Like all things, I'm sure this falls under the "to each his own" category.

Cheers.

[PaulS]

Thanks for the explanation.

All I meant by "better grip" is the well known fact that with a little higher pitch at the catch, the oar enters a little easier and holds a little better, as discussed on page 24 here: http://www.worldrowing.com/medias/docs/media_350417.pdf. I wasn't referring to an attempt to mask technique problems.

Like all things, I'm sure this falls under the "to each his own" category.

Cheers.

Agreed, it will definitely fall into a "strokes for folks" class.
I've read over that manual several times, but had forgotten how much pitch they mention, seems it may be mixing signals from the good old days, to the more modern equivalents.

Although it was recommended in BASIC RIGGING that the lateral
angle of the pin be zero, it is common practice to provide
an outward inclination of the pin (a positive angle). By keeping
the stern angle of the pin at zero and making the lateral angle
positive, the pitch of the blade is always greater at the entry and
less at the release than in the perpendicular or middle position.
Thus, the pitch progressively decreases through the drive phase
of the stroke cycle. This change allows the blade to enter the
water easily, to hold better and to release cleanly.
The usual lateral pin angle is 1 to 2 degrees. This will provide
an increase and decrease of the pitch of the blade from the middle
position of about 0.5 to 1.0 degrees, respectively. Thus, a
lateral pin angle of 2 degrees will cause 7 degree pitch of the
blade to change from about 8 degrees on the entry to 7 degrees
in the middle and about 6 degrees on the release.

I can't help but think that with the common asymetric blades that we end up getting a bit of torque on the shaft that results in a similar effect to the regressive pitch while the blade goes from catch to finish (greatest to least load), without the necessity of lateral pitch.

Some carefree summer day, when I've got extra time, I'll give the lateral pitch a go, pretty easy with Carl Douglas' Axior Pins.

Still must admit that I don't understand how it allows the blade to "hold better", as the optimal "hold" due to hydrodynamic lift, would be for the blade to be perfectly perpendicular to the water, though that is a near impossible configuration to row with. Though it has been mentioned in various rigging discussions that less pitch can be used by more skillful scullers. Otherwise known as - NOT me.

[becz]

Some carefree summer day, when I've got extra time, I'll give the lateral pitch a go, pretty easy with Carl Douglas' Axior Pins.

Sweet!

Otherwise known as - NOT me.

And me. Anything between 4 and 8 degrees, and I doubt I'd notice much of a difference.

[PaulS]

Some carefree summer day, when I've got extra time, I'll give the lateral pitch a go, pretty easy with Carl Douglas' Axior Pins.

Sweet!

Yeah, I gotta admit that the AeroWing Rigger is top of the heap. I had them mounted and completey set for span and vertical pins in about 30 minutes for our 2x, doing all the work alone. It was flat out amazing how easy the Axior system works, and the riggers are strong enough that no pesky backstays are needed, making for extremely clean lines on the boat. If you ever have an option for riggers on a new boat, I'd highly recommend them. Of course the boats are wonderful too, but I have to wait a bit to get the piggy bank ready for that.