Rowing Position Mock-up: Waterline vs. Dry Test

[Jeff_D.]

I’m configuring my rowing position using the ‘trusty’ dry test (raft on the garage floor with the blades removed from the oar shafts). When everything is mocked up and the outboard end of the shaft is resting on the floor (i.e. the position mimicking blade submergence) the handles sit at about shoulder height, but on the high end.

Ideally the handles would rest a little lower. To that end, it stands to reason that the angle of the oars would be shallower (thus lowering the handle location relative to my sitting position/shoulders) once the boat is loaded and in the water, as the garage floor seems to sit lower than the water line would. Does this chain of logic make sense?

Cheers and TIA,
JD

[Zach]

JD – it’s really hard to answer this without photos and/or diagrams. Here is what I would focus on:

1. Get your seat as low as possible
2. Don’t use oar towers longer than the NRS 8″ oar towers
3. Choose your oar length by multiplying the distance between your oar locks by 1.63

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