BAIR ISLAND AQUATIC CENTER
SCULLING MANUAL
By Mike Sullivan
Spring 2002
Boat Handling
Equipment handling is a much-overlooked aspect of rowing. Often in
teaching we are in a hurry, skip steps, or simply forget.
What I offer is a method of boat handling I've learned from 30 years
of rowing and coaching in various clubs and colleges around the US.
There are other valid methods of boat handling, but it is important
that the club adopts a consistent, safe approach.
Boat handling methods I suggest may seem like overkill for certain boats.
Some modern equipment is pretty durable, and it would seem could
accommodate rougher treatment, such as being set down on the ground
or dock and pushed into the water, or for easily undoing the
oarlocks. Even so, I urge us all to stay with methods of boat handling that
can transfer easily from rowing craft to rowing craft, and treat
each boat as if it were a precious 1930 restored wood single.
We are creatures of habit, and I'd hate to see you meet a friend
who offers you a chance to scull their 1968 Staempfli single, a very
expensive single to repair, then you step through the hull getting into it.
LAUNCHING
1. Log in with time/boat ID/sculler's name
2. Take sculls to dock - if just a few people are out and about, set sculls
together blade edge down on dock in middle of dock, else put handle
down in oar box. Carry sculls with blades in front of you with
the oars parallel to the ground.
3. Put out slings if none out. I believe a set of slings should
be set up anytime someone is on the water, it is a quick indication to others
that a member is out on the water.
4. Lift boat from rack, tilt outside rigger down so inside doesn't
drag on hull below.
5. Watch above rigger. Do not scrape the hull of the boat below.
6. If removing boat from bottom racks, use set of slings to help
change grip, i.e., set it on slings, spin, then lift again. This is
an effective method.
7. For two-person boat, grab boat at least 2 ft. from bow and stern,
each watches the length of the boat when removing from rack. Bow
person watches stern, stern watches bow.
8. Carry two-person boat sideways in the crook of your arm, deck
toward you.
9. When carrying boat by yourself, carry over head, or on your
head and slightly tilt the boat as you negotiate between racks.
Another fine option is to carry it in the crook of your arm, with hand on the
hull, and seat resting on shoulder.
10. On dock, toe the edge of the dock. Put boat in water so it doesn't drag
on dock, bend knees and lower boat. For difficult-to-handle boat
or in a breeze, put one end in water first so you have a three-point balance,
and slide out into the water, then place parallel to dock.
11. Take off shoes and leave at dock. (Shoes track sand and dirt into
boat.)
12. Close ports, plugs. If it is dark or will become dark while you row,
put bow and stern lights on your boat. Bow lights are red and are
next to the log book. They insert into a clip on the bow.
13. Dockside oar goes in oarlock blade edge down all the way to
button in oarlock.
14. Waterside oarlock is opened by stepping in the middle of the
center strip, putting inside hand on dockside rigger and reaching out
to waterside oarlock. Never step or even set feet upon bottom of
the boat unless it is specifically designed for it. Water side
oar remains shipped so oar handle is on dock until you are ready
to get in boat. This prevents oar from drifting.
15. Fasten locks before getting in boat.
16. Foot center strip, dockside hand on boat, outside hand on both
scull grips. Stand in boat balanced, then sit into seat slowly.
17. Lean boat out so dockside scull is off dock, give hard long
shove, and avoid dragging blade on dock.
18. Adjust your foot settings and other settings on the water and not on the dock. This is suggested if there is other boat traffic waiting to dock or other traffic waiting to launch.
Tall people can cheat some
COURSE
1. Right hand rule on the course, when in doubt, move to your
starboard.
2. Be aware of boats launching and docking at Stanford dock and High
School beach.
ROWING
No, I won't teach you to row here, but will offer a couple of overlooked boat
handling methods on the water.
1. Backing: Blade should be square and backward. Push with hands
and body at most, no slide, recover ON the water. To recover on
the water, force the blade to be feathered backwards from the normal
seat of the oar when it sits in lock, i.e., stern edge should be forced
higher than the bow edge on recovery so the blade doesn't dive.
2. Hold Water: The most common method of holding water -- pushing the
blade into the water by lifting the handle -- is inferior. Holding
water is a three-step process:
A. Stop rowing, oars rest flat on water.
B. Feather blades exactly flat (rotating slightly backward) so
that blade edge catches and drags water. The blade will try to dive, so
resist it.
C. Depending upon how quickly you need to stop, rotate the
blades backward, very slowly if you are stopping gently, more
quickly in an emergency.
The advantage to this method is that you have far more control of
the direction and balance of the boat while stopping. You can hold
water on one side to turn your boat under complete control.
A single can be stopped dead in less than a length from full speed
using this method.
3. Steering: Get a bearing on your course BEFORE you start rowing. Line up your
bow to where you want to go, then look off the stern and find a
landmark on shore as a guide. Compare your landmark to your boat
wake to help you guide your boat in a straight line.
Glance around often to begin with to look for other traffic,
obstacles etc. every six strokes or so. There is a technique
Sully can show you after you've done your 100 miles. Steer your
boat on the move by pushing harder on one foot, or on a severe
turn, reaching farther on one side than the other and pulling
harder.
DOCKING and BOAT CARE
1. Point boat at 45-degree angle to dock, a couple strokes firm,
hold water water side to drift in slowly.
2. Check footboard pins for tightness.
3. Stand up, step out, keep hand on sculls, hand on gunwale
or rigger as you stand, not on the dock.
4. Undo outside lock, similarly to how you unlocked it.
5. Open ports and plugs at the stern post.
6. Lift straight out over head.
7. Drain boat of water at dock.
8. Put boat in slings right side up, then turn upside down in slings.
9. To spin: lift boat an inch off slings, spin toward you
3/4 way around, set to slings, then lift to spin the rest of the
way.
10. Lay sculls on slings or deck so that handles and collars do not
touch the ground, blade edge down. A good method is to place the
handles on the slings under the boat. That way, you can rinse both sculls
and boat.
11.
With boat upside down on sling, rinse top, bottom, inside, and sculls
with fresh water. Give the tracks an extra wash.
12. Dry riggers, tracks with towel, keep towel off ground at all
times and hang to dry. (future)
13. Check oarlocks are closed, re-rack boat, bow points toward San Jose.
14. Sculls racked in proper location, 2x on left, 1x in middle,
Aeros on right.
15. Log out time, damage, dangerous situations reported.
Never lean the sculls vertically, if they must be set down,
set them on the ground. Gravity – it’s the law.
Once a month, each boat should be washed with soap and water,
and dried and lubed with WD40 on moving parts. Inspect aluminum
parts for corrosion, especially where it contacts steel parts.
Corrosion begins as a fine white powder. This inspection should be
done before cleaning, and noted. Rigger nuts should be loosed and
tightened, footboards loosed and tightened, and seat removed and
cleaned.
A spray of silicone on the seat tracks, seat axles, and
oarlocks is helpful.
Footboards should be set so that as you sit in the finish position
with legs flat in layback position, the ends of the scull handles are
approximately a thumb's-length from your chest, i.e. you can touch your
chest by extending your thumbs.
SAFETY
1. Log in and out.
2. Be aware of temps and conditions, 100 degree rule should apply.
Do not scull by yourself if water+air temp < 100.
3. If you are not confident of swimming in open bay water, or
cold water, please wear flotation.
4. If you should tip over, recommend that you re-enter from the
water, as the mud can be very difficult to walk/stand in, though during
high tide it's OK to swim boat to shore and re-enter boat from there.
Water Re-Entry
1. Right boat, put scull handles together with both blades flat
on the water perpendicular to boat.
2. Hold both scull handles with one hand, push seat to stern of
tracks.
3. With other hand, pull yourself across boat on top of seat, you
want to get to a position where you are laying straddled across the
boat. Keep hold of those handles, keep oars ON water.
4. Use your non handle hand to push yourself up enough to twist to
get your butt on or near the seat and slide a leg across.
5. Make your adjustments to sit back on the seat and feet back in
footboards.
SCULLING EQUIPMENT USAGE
BIAC sculling boats and oars are to be used only by members who have
been certified or checked out properly. BIAC boats are marked with
numbers on the side, and most club equipment has red tape around one
or more riggers. There are sculls that correspond to most boats,
and currently one set of hatchets that are not specifically reserved
for a particular boat.
The oar box is divided in three sections. Please place sculls
with concave part of blade facing forward. The sculls are marked
by either boat name or number on the shaft. Sculls for the doubles
and the hatchets are in the left section, sculls for the singles in
the middle, and sculls for the Aeros on the right section.
Returning sculls where they belong makes it easier for the next
person to find sculls.
Sculling Certification - Guideline
In order to launch a boat from BIAC by yourself, you must be
certified to handle the boat. This is true for private as
well as club owned boats. Non-certified scullers may row
with a certified sculler, or during supervised sessions.
Certification means the sculler understands the standards
for safety, boat handling, and traffic patterns. The sculler
is responsible for his/her own safety and understands that certification
procedures are not the replacement for common sense.
There are methods of boat handling taught by the club that need
not be adopted by individuals to gain certification, just that
the member demonstrates proper care of equipment, and understanding
of dock rules, traffic patterns.
Checklist
Boat Handling/Safety
1. Launching shell, see boat handling document
2. Traffic patterns on bay
3. Safety procedures - dumping
4. Safety procedures - collisions
5. Safety procedures - weather, tides
6. Docking
7. Racking, boat care
8. Required logging and damage report
Sculling skills:
1. Proper hands
2. Feathering
3. Simple turns (being able to anchor blade and row other)
4. Backing (recovery on water method)
5. Holding water (3 step method)
a. Stop rowing, oars flat on water
b. Reverse-feather slightly
c. Gradual reverse-feather to backing position
6. Hold water one side
7. Be able to do a circle course on channel
8. Getting back ON course when you find yourself in wrong place
HOW TO START SCULLING AT BIAC
1. If you wish to learn to scull, contact Mike Sullivan at
sul@stanford.edu.
2. Pick a date and email me, I'll confirm that I got it. Wed
evenings at 6pm or Thurs morn at 6am, and some Saturday mornings
are available for continuing lessons.
3. Directions: Get off at Seaport/Woodside Rd on 101 Bayshore
freeway - head east toward bay. On Seaport east, take left
at first light, this ends at Maple, take a right.
Maple then turns 90 degrees to left, BIAC is on the right
side, park on the street.
4. Wear comfy (according to weather) athletic clothes, not baggy sweats and
some rubber-soled tennies. Avoid loose bulky sweat shirts, jackets,
prefer tighter fitting wool knit or pullover nylon if it's
cold.
5. Cost is free first time, $100 for a month to get certified
to take a boat out and figure out if you want to continue sculling.
6. The $100 fee is deductible from the annual membership, i.e., if you wish
to join BIAC, pay an additional $300 for remainder of the year.
7. Sessions cover boat handling, nomenclature, and basic sculling
skills. People average 3-4 sessions to become certified to take a
boat out on their own.
AFTER CERTIFICATION
1. You may row an Aero as often as you like for the remainder of the
month, at your convenience, then decide if you wish to join.
2. Row the prescribed course from dock to the wires and back for 100
miles.
3. At that point, you have three choices:
A. You may come to Mike for further instruction on technique and
training on Wed mornings at 6am, this is a drop-in group
session. Row an Aero in these sessions.
B. You may start rowing the BIAC singles.
C. You may row a double with other certified members.
The "100 mile" rule is somewhat arbitrary, yes, but I've set it up
so that beginning scullers will learn to negotiate the primary
rowing course and row on the right side while they're going slow.
This is a safety issue. It takes a while for scullers to be able
to row a straight line, see where they're going while rowing,
and to be able to negotiate turns.
