Background
During June and July of 2002 the international rowing newsgroup was buzzing with discussions about swamping boats. This followed some outcry over the issue of whether or not different types of boat were safe when swamped, and action by the Leo Blockley Memorial Campaign to encourage the UK Amateur Rowing Association to require buoyancy in all shells.
On the back of this, a bunch of Oxford students ran some "sink tests" on a fine day in June, on the Isis (the Thames at Oxford), testing the ability of various different shells to support their crews while swamped to different degrees and with different weights of crew. The collected results are detailed on the Leo Blockley Memorial Campaign website.
This inspired Elder Rowing in New Zealand to try the same thing, partly on the basis that the more boats which are tested in a relatively scientific way, the better.
They write "We had a crew organised to swamp test a boat on the last weekend of June, but being mid winter here could neither bribe nor bully the club's number one coxswain into getting into the boat. The "what part of NO! don't you understand?" tends to be final! She did say that while the cause was right, freezing to death in a bow coxed boat was not!
This week it was put forward by one of our staff that we should hire a swimming pool preferably large undercover and heated! We have located one, unfortunatly not long enough to row in but large enough to float an eight in. We have had an amazing response from different coaches, who believe they will have no problems providing us with crews.
Weights we plan to test are 70kg average, 80 kg average and hopefully 95kg average in both, bow coxed four and stern coxed eight. A total of four boats, a four and eight with 75kg average crew weight with low rigs and a four and eight 90kg average crew with medium height rigs. The new planned date for the test is Sunday 4th of August.
We will forward you the results and if we can locate a good digital video we will hopefully include some footage, but we definitely will have some stills for you. Results should be up online by the Wednesday after the test."
Neil, Elder Rowing, NZ.
Copyright Rachel Quarrell, 2002. Not to be reproduced in any form without express permission.