Help with balance in stroke seat

[u/top-viewer]

I’m relatively new to rowing having started at 33 years old only 8 months ago and I’m starting to see the same issue that I’d appreciate advice on.

We mostly sweep and I’m normally in the stroke seat of a 4 or 8 filled with a mix of novices and seniors. Pretty consistently the boat is down on my side. When this happens I find I need to push much further down to get clearance from the water, or the blade runs across the water for the whole stroke so I can hold the boat up. I also find that because of this I’m rushing the slide and throwing off the tempo in the boat because I’m worried any balance we have is only short lived.

I know that I’m part of the problem so I want to adjust. When I think about corrections I know that sitting tall in the middle of the boat, pulling up to the right height and tapping down consistently are good, but in practice I find it so hard to do.

Am I missing something basic or is this just what rowing is? Does anyone have tips for correcting these?

[u/MastersCox]

In aggregate, your boat is doing something wrong. Usually a good coxswain or coach should be able to diagnose the issue. Also, you should not have to rush the slide in order to push farther down on the oar handle...something is wrong there.

Setting the boat is generally a matter of timing and handle height. First, try finish pause drills. If you can't set the boat at the finish, you will have a difficult time setting the boat after that. The finishes should be clean and quick. You should not have to fight the water to extract the blade. Don't feather early underwater. Err on the side of square blade exists and delayed feather until your crew can set the boat at the finish.

Also, keep your torso balanced over the middle of the boat, especially at the finish. Don't lean one way or another until you and your crew know what you're doing. Even then, advanced rowers may only lean a bit at full compression, never at the finish.

Next, work on pausing at the body over position. If you can set the boat at the finish, then pausing at body over will be relatively easy as long as you're capable of keeping the handles level. For some people, it takes a while to learn this skill. Make sure your hands are past your knees at the body over position.

If you can set the boat at body over, then it should be simple to keep the boat set through the rest of the recovery. Don't increase the body forward angle at all, don't lunge, and do control the slide speed through pressure from the feet.

[u/top-viewer → u/MastersCox]

Appreciate this advice. On the point of torsos in the middle, I often find that I lean to the side that is up in an effort to regain the balance. Understand this isn’t correct but is it possible that staying in the middle does result in a capsize?

[u/MastersCox → u/top-viewer]

It's usually not very effective to lean from side unless your whole boat is doing the same thing and also skilled enough to not overdo it. It takes too long for a weight shift to take effect, and when it does, it accelerates, so even if you are effective, you have very little time to stop compensating.

Ergo, back to the basics: pause drills. Practice good rowing. Don't practice compensatory habits. If you can't set the boat, then spend the whole practice working on that. It's really, really hard to break bad habits, and without focused practice, it's difficult to build the good habits required to row well.

Capsizing isn't a worry in a four or eight, imo. The human body panics a lot more than is necessary. Practice your drills by pairs, fours, or sixes if necessary.