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Rowers!


Proper Job

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So there I was, inside the boat when I heard all sorts of commotion outside.

 

........ another boat not made the bend? :rolleyes: .......... no engines reving :mellow:

 

So out I pop to see a rowing eight, fully loaded trying to negotiate the corner - not very successfully

 

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Now, apparently they are doing a charity row from Oxford to Cambridge!

 

It may take them a while...........

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I guess I'll be expecting them passing our house in a few days' time, then, if they can find their way, and if they haven't been captured by irate boat owners keen to discuss scraped paintwork.

I am surprised to see that half the rowers are facing forwards and the other half are facing astern. When the annual Boat Race, which is the only sight that many of us get of rowing eights, is televised, I'm sure that all the crew except the cox are pointing the same way.

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Even when they got to a stretch were there were no boats moored, they still had problems rowing.

 

The blades couldn't get deep enough in the water to row or got caught in bushes etc that over hung the canal

 

The two facing the wrong way had a couple of paddles. They seemed to be doing most of the work!

 

I'd love to have seen them trying to negotiate a lock. I presume that they would carry the boat round, but some of the locks with bridges at the the tail would be fun with that length of boat.

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When Denzil Bacon built rowing boats for Nottingham Uni at Trent Bridge, the bridge was his major source of work -it kept moving to catch rowers out!!! So he'd have to build a new bow section for people who's navigation was poor. I can't see how a rowing boat will manage on narrow, populated waters.

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When Denzil Bacon built rowing boats for Nottingham Uni at Trent Bridge, the bridge was his major source of work -it kept moving to catch rowers out!!! So he'd have to build a new bow section for people who's navigation was poor. I can't see how a rowing boat will manage on narrow, populated waters.

I think it would be fair to say that they weren't

 

God knows what state the blades were in!

Edited by Proper Job
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I wouldn't fancy doing that in an eight! Would be much better in something like a dragon boat. The length of the oars would make it very difficult to manoeuvre in the majority of canals and every bridge hole and lock would cause a real headache. Everyone would have to get out and remove the oars to pass a lock which is enough of a chore when using a convenient pontoon, but most lock landings and banks would be far from suitable. Good luck to them - they'll need it! :wacko:

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They're bloody bonkers. I wouldn't steer an eight down a narrow canal, it's completely unsuitable and a liability.

 

 

Well, they are probably students, and therefore 'wacky'. So if we point out thestupidity unsuitability of their prank, it is obviously us who don't understand it... doh...

 

Us non students can be so square....

:rolleyes:

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a few weeks ago near gayton I saw a rower in the distance, I noticed a flag on the back that turned out to be the Red Cross Charity and his canoe was actually a bathtub with some polystyrene around the outside. Not sure how far he was going but it was for charity.

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a few weeks ago near gayton I saw a rower in the distance, I noticed a flag on the back that turned out to be the Red Cross Charity and his canoe was actually a bathtub with some polystyrene around the outside. Not sure how far he was going but it was for charity.

 

 

A rower in a canoe! How does that work?!

  • Greenie 1
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I'm sure it wont be long before a narrowboat takes them out.

 

Even with the oars all shipped, they're surprisingly wide with the frames that support the oars

 

I wouldn't have thought that hull was very flexible either (impact resistant)

 

I suspect they'll capsize themselves before long, pulling the blades in on both sides at the same time- as they will for narrow gaps - means they're left with a round hull with the weight high up....

 

And the boat's made of resin honeycomb, a bit of fiberglass and carbon fibre, and will crunch, rip and snap, or at the least become so gouged as to need a re-gel coat and a rebake by the manufacturers.

 

I know I have the experience to take an eight up a narrow canal, and I could do it, but I wouldn't because it's a stupid thing to do, charity or not.

 

Punting from oxford to Cambridge was much more suitable.

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I guess I'll be expecting them passing our house in a few days' time, then, if they can find their way, and if they haven't been captured by irate boat owners keen to discuss scraped paintwork.

I am surprised to see that half the rowers are facing forwards and the other half are facing astern. When the annual Boat Race, which is the only sight that many of us get of rowing eights, is televised, I'm sure that all the crew except the cox are pointing the same way.

If the carry it down the Northampton Arm

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Slightly off topic, but I passed a kayaker today whom I regularly see gliding along the cut but this is the first time I've passed her while I was underway. She looks to be, from my very limited knowledge of things, a very competent kayaker and looks very graceful in the water and manages her kayak/ canoe with seeming ease.

 

I saw her from a fair way off and moved over to the right and got as slow as I could without losing steering (which is pretty slow) and more or less waited for her to pass me or indicate what she would like me to do.

Instead she came to a dead stop and held her position on her side of the canal and waited for me to pass her- which I duly did as this was evidently what she wanted me to do, and she waved and smiled when I did- but this makes little sense to me?

As I understand it, it's pretty hard to keep a canoe or kayak upright while not moving and surely there would be more risk of wash from me passing her that might unbalance her (albeit I passed slowly and gave her a wide berth) than she might risk by making progress to pass me while I hold steady or on dead slow tick over?

Or am I missing something.

 

I would like to know what I should do next time, assuming the canoeist/ kayaker doesn't indicate clearly what best works for them.

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They're no more unstable when stationary, not sure why she'd have stopped really, perhaps she didn't want to present you with a moving target :) When rowing on the river I find it best if boats keep to their side and continue on their merry way so they can be passed without having to take evasive action. Had fun yesterday while leap frogging another quad, us passing either side of a cruiser with another coming the other way! Took some well timed steering to avoid potential issues...! Then my steering shoe de laminated and left me twisting my foot around with no effect on the rudder - oops! :help:

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From memory, both Nell Bridge lock and Somerton Deep lock are right pigs for canoeists. I think it was at Somerton that we had to portage through a farmers field as we couldn't get the boat through the bridge hole due to the angle, and our canoe was only 17 feet long. I imagine they had fun and games. Nell Bridge we had to leg it across the road avoiding cars that magically appeared from a nearly blind bend.

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