Your Boat Committee At Work: Two New Boats, and the Reduction of Over-Crowding in the Sculling Oar Rack

Reporting for the Boat Committee, Mark Schofield writes:

The club has recently purchased two boats; a heavy-weight coxed four and a mid-weight double. The former is a German-made Empacher, generally considered the world’s premier boat builder, with 60% of boats at the Beijing Olympics made by this company. Our boat was previously owned by Colgate University. Although it is four years old, it is in excellent condition as they only used it for a few races each year. Although the boat is designed to be rowed by a crew whose average weight is at least 185 lbs, the hull is so light that it has metal weights in the center to bring it up to FISA’s minimum weight requirement. The boat is in the restricted category meaning that novice rowers are not eligible and only one intermediate rower can be in the crew.

The double is made by Van Dusen and was previously owned by club member, Helma Chartier and her late husband Don. Although the boat is a 1998, it has been rowed very little and is still stiff and in great condition. To bring the boat up to current safety standards the lace-up shoes will be replaced with Velcro quick-release ones, and to eliminate the problem of the front of the rails digging into the calves, new rails and seats will be installed in the next couple of weeks. The boat is designed for an average crew weight of between 135 and 180 lbs, with no more than about a 40 lb difference in the individuals’ weights. In other words, no one weighing more than 200 lbs should use this boat. The boat is restricted meaning that a senior sculler must steer and no novice rowers can be in the crew.

The boat reservation sheet has been amended to include both boats.

One last announcement: To reduce the over crowding in the rack for sculling oars, a section of the rack in the upstream bay has been designated for private oars. Club oars will continue to be stored in the area to the left of the yellow tape, while the right-hand side is designated for private oars with both sides labeled as such.

The Boat Committee