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Laurie just sent a great question about blade oar depth. She asks: Hi Mike! Can you give me some guidelines on where best to place depth-marking tape on the sweep oar. If you have any ideas on this and if you could tell me from where you are measuring ie- the end of the blade […]

A reader recently asked: Hello Mike,I found your site while looking for information on transporting a rowing shell across the country. My son is a college varsity rower and has purchased a shell (for sculling). Do you know how folks get their boats back and forth across the country? He was able to hitch a […]

An oar grip is an incredibly important place – it is where the rower meets the oar.  If that grip is not ready to race, the rower won’t be either.  Today, most (but not all) grips are made of synthetics. There are many different types of materials, sizes, and colors used. Regardless of these differences […]

Rigging crazy—it’s the thing that happens to us (all of us) during the racing season. We go looking for that one-little-iota-of-speed—that 1/10th of a second that will make the difference between fame and famine, and whammo—Rigging Crazy hits “Two-seat you are washing out”—must be the pitch “Seven seat you are late at the catch” —must be […]

Simple question—do you love your rigging? Does it make you smile? Is it one of your most favorite things as a coach/rower? If not—why not? In many of the rigging clinics I’ve run I have surveyed the attendees to find out how they feel about rigging. I would like to say that many of them […]

Boy do we ever travel a lot in the sport of rowing. Regattas, erg races, recruiting trips, conventions and meetings. Sometimes it seems like we spend more time on the road than at home—especially during racing season. Planning ahead can greatly reduce the hassles, problems and risks of traveling. Here are six steps to success: […]

We are all suffering pain at the pump right now. However rowing coaches can suffer a level of pain that most other drivers do not have to endure. This picture above should give you some indication of what I mean. More boats and rowing equipment are damaged in transit than while in actual use. Although […]

Waxing a rowing shell has benefits, such as protecting the hull from damage from the sun and from pollutants. (Of course there are also down sides, like messing up a nice pair of pants.) However, one of the benefits of waxing is NOT speed. A good wax job will actually slow your hull down.  What […]