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Rowperfect is offering Paul Thompson's companion to his successful book, Sculling, a new DVD.

Rowing and Sculling: Techniques in Action is presented by Paul and offers a "unique opportunity to see the techniques of Britain's best rowers in training and to hear tips and advice from them and their coaches".

Here is the publishers information:

Illustrated with footage from the Olympics and the World Championships, it is an accessible account of this inspiring sport.

• Explains through clear, key points how to improve your performance on the water
• Essential viewing for coaches and rowers at all levels
• Interviews from the leading figures in GB rowing
• Produced to the highest standards with full play option and clear chapter divisions

Pre-order your copy today from Rowperfect UK.

Publication date is "end" of October. Price £19.99. DVD Region: 0

Rowperfect UK is offering the DVD for sale

DVD Rowing and  Sculling £19.99 plus £2.50 postage

DVD Rowing and Sculling plus Sculling book £32.98 plus £3.50 postage SAVE £2

Pre-order today and be among the first…. just email us your order, postal address and phone number and we'll call for payment when the DVD is in stock! 

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We have had a lot of interest in the new Coxmate boat speed measurement tools and so, for clarity, I am reproducing below an email I sent to a top University and U23 boat club who are considering buying one.

The range of options have some overlap between the SC and SCT cox box and amplification units and the speed sensor/impeller and the GPS.  I'll try to clarify the different options.

Prices and options:
You need to have a cox box unit and a means of measuring boat speed plus optional software to do the analysis.  Note, the software produces graphs of boat speed when used with the speed sensor / impeller but NOT with the GPS although all other data is collected, just not the graphs.

SC Kit (SC, microphone, carrying box, manual, charger and software) £545. [note you need a speed sensor / impeller too]

SCT kit (SCT, microphone, magnetic mount, charger, carrying box, manual) £470. [note you need software, and a speed sensor/impeller OR a GPS too].

Speed sensor and impeller for 8 £147

Speed sensor and impeller for 4 £115

Speed sensor and impeller for bow coxed 4 £110

GPS £130

SC/SCT software £110

As ever, we have demonstration units available if you want to try them.

And there are some special prices right now to clear old stock.

SC kit normally £545 now £450

SR kit normally £335 now £280 (that's about *£145* cheaper than other well-known cox box manufacturers)

AA kit normally £200 now £100

Wiring loom (non-modular) for 8 normally £140 now £100

Here are the brochures for the SC and SCT

SC Brochure

SCT Brochure

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In preparation for the launch of the Coxmate SCT cox box with GPS, Rowperfect has been researching places to find good information and advice on coxing.  Here's one that we have not seen before.

Published by Emanuel College Cambridge Boat Club, their home-trained cox, Rebecca Dowbiggin, who coxed the winning 2007 Boat Race crew, has written a guide to coxing.  This appears to have been written in 2003-4 before she started the CUBC programme but after she'd coxed the Womens and Lightweight Men's boat races.  So, pretty experienced but not yet at her peak (maybe that's still true as she says she wants an Olympic seat….).

Emanuel College Guide to Coxing

Anyway, it's quite specific to the River Cam and to College Boat Clubs - but there are some strong passages that any cox would do well to read for a refresher.  

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Rpw : Rowperfect for Windows Update (September 2007)
 
Hi everyone, some small fixes this time, mainly addressing heart-rate readout issues. As always, the full release notes of this version can be found below. 

You can download the software from 
rpw-without-manual-1041.exe

RPW will only record data when connected to a MKIV monitor, or a re-programmed PC interface. This implies that upgrading from CARE/DOS to RPW means getting your current PC interface re-programmed. Please contact your local Rowperfect agent for details.

Q. Can I use Rpw on a PC without a serial port?
 
A. Yes and no.  We have been able to use RPW through an USB-to-serial adapter, testing several brands and models. However, not *all* cables tested have proven to be useable. Therefore, we suggest to use a serial port when available, and only switch to a USB adapter when strictly needed. 

# Recording, and then what?

Q. Why should I record all this data for every stroke in the first place?
A. To analyse your work, real time (during the training session) or off-line (when done), and thus monitoring performance, progress and athletes compatibility. With RPW, you can analyse 2 files at the same time. To do a thorough analysis of larger amounts of data, try SEAN : Session Analysis. 

# Release Notes version 1.0.4.1 - August 29, 2007

* The splash screen will show an "About" button, when the software has expired.
* Improved heart rate read-out.
* Time and heart rate are now continuously updated when the flywheel is not spinning, approximately once every two seconds. Note: this is done ONLY when connected to the interface. That is, when a training session is in progress; NOT when a session has been finished or canceled.

* Parameter cells in the Row window are now displaying the start value for a count down session (e.g. distance), right from the beginning; NOT only after the first stroke has been made.
 

Version 1.0.4.0 - January 9, 2007
* Support for reading KkIV files has been added. Now, MKS (Session),
 MKR (Strokes) and MKI (User settings) files can be read. These files are generated by MKIV monitors with software version 0.32 and later.

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Are you interested in a second hand rowperfect rowing simulator?  Here are two possibilities:

This is a bit of a long-shot for most people based in the UK….. but given the strength of the £ versus US$ I thought I’d let you know about this one.

There's an Ebay auction on now for a Rowperfect indoor rower.  Located in Margate City, New Jersey, USA.
Opening bid is US$ 1,000.

Now if you were VERY KEEN, you could buy it, find a nice local to take it to the Head of the Charles in Boston next weekend and get one of the many British Crews to bring it home (hand luggage excess) for you….  
Auction ends  Oct-11-07 07:06:54 PDT

I also have a second hand Rowperfect with an interface for sale here in the UK.  £600 plus shipping £50 to UK addresses.
This has a bar that has been repaired with two welds (but it works fine) it has an interface and DOS software,
It has been serviced by us and has had new bearings throughout.

Please use the contact form to express interest.

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During the UK Postal Strike Rowperfect has made arrangements with a private courier company so that your deliveries are not impeded.

We will carry the additional cost of transportation for our customers. 

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Thanks to Terry Reid of North Staffordshire RC who has undertaken a load of detective work in order to get to try out a Rowperfect near his hom e!

We started at the Staffordshire University who had bought one for their sports science lab - but found it had been sold in an inter-club deal.  And Burton Leander RC came to the rescue!

Thanks to everyone for their generosity of time and inclination. We are very grateful for club., coaches and athletes who take the time to show off equipment they bougt from us to interested parties.

if you want to try something, ask us - we keep a good database of who has bought what over the years and can probably introduce you …. 

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Just had a call from Philip Mann of Thames Rowing Club.  He was keen to learn about the 'ideal' force curve on a Rowperfect indoor rower.

I referred him to the Articles page of the website where there are two useful documents.  They are at the bottom of the page under Articles About Rowperfect

"Applying British Rowing Technique" was a workshop Rowperfect UK ran for the ARA when they did a tour of the British regions during 2005 illustrating the new technique that they wanted club coaches to be teaching. 

This slide deck takes each part of the stroke cycle and suggests drills and exercises for teaching it.  There are also illustrative force curves showing good and less good technique.  

The second document is a detailed list of the drills and exercises and how to teach them - a useful check-list. 

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An intelligent discussion about different spoon shapes - Macon, Hatchet, ApexR on RSR

Charles Carroll says

This was reported in the "Rowing News," the October 2004 issue, p. 50.

"… the conventional wisdom [is] that hatchets help novices greatly but have less impact at the top end of the sport. Elite coach Volker Nolte graphed the best Olympic and world championship times during the transition from Macons to the Big Blade. 'You do no see specific improvements between 1991 and 1992,' he says. 'I also could not see [a difference] when I coached the Canadian lightweight men's eight. I actually rowed Macon oars on one side and Big Blades on the  other, removed the rudder and asked the rowers to row with closed eyes. The boat went perfectly straight.'"

Now as for blade area, very few people pay any attention to blade area but will constantly play with their gearing. But isn't this understandable? Once you purchased a boat and sculls, isn't it easier to change spread, outboard and inboard then it is to swap out blades? As for blade area and shape, that was the whole point of  bringing up the Dreher LS1999 blade. The length of this blade is shorter than a Macon, the width is wider, and the blade has less curve to it.

I was in a hurry, as I always am, and picked out a set of sculls from the Club Rack thinking I was selecting a set of Macons. Surprise! The first problem I had was backing up. I just couldn't get the blade out of the water. I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but backing up was so difficult that I turned around and rowed out of the Marina. In the hour or so that I used these sculls I never did manage to back up worth a damn. The second problem I encountered was at the catch. I found that in order to get a decent catch with the LS1999s I had to be much more careful about building up pressure against the pins. If I built up this pressure too suddenly - that is, slammed back against the pins - the LS1999s lost hold of the water. That air entrainment behind the blades that you have so expertly written about, Carl! [refers to earlier post by Carl Douglas].

So with the LS1999s I had to be subtler and more delicate when I took the catch. It seems to me that another way of saying this is that to take a good catch with the LS1999s required more skill than is required by conventional Macons, hatchets or Apex-RX designs. But the upside to the LS1999s is that when the blades lost hold of the water at the catch, I didn't feel the same hard, punishing load that I feel when my Apex-Rex blades lose their hold on the water. The only problem with losing hold of the water with the LS1999s is that I just didn't go as fast as when I kept my hold on the water. In the hour or so that I sculled with the LS1999s I eventually learned how to catch water and hold on to it. And when I did, I found that I could build up pressure against the pins every bit as well as I can with a set of hatchets, or Macons, or Apex-Rx blades.

My conclusion, for what its worth, corroborates what Paul [Smith] wrote in an earlier posting. The LS1999s and Macons require more skill than hatchets or Apex-Rx blades. But once you have attained this skill, LS1999s and Macons are every bit as effective at catching water and holding on to it as the other, bigger blades.

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