was mounted at an angle up high to the stern with full-length side mirrors allowing both lines of athletes facing in the same direction could see each other by looking forward or to the side. As a result the two eights “rowed as one” and team could blend together its technique over winter training. However, visual comparison is not enough to identify the subtle differences in force applications and other issues that hold back a very good team from being a great team. To assist athletes and coaches alike
direction. The relatively light boat/rower system is freely floating on the water and the blade size and gearing has evolved so that once the blade is fully immersed in the water it is more than capable of staying fixed in it, not slipping in the boat travel direction, while being able to move relative to it only in and out from the boat along its described path. Dreher tanks were designed over 25
years ago to use the minimum mass of water possible. The rowers put in motion about 2.5 tons of water for a two pool, eight station sculling tank. That is 5% of the 50 tons of water that the average 120 HP motor must move in a powered tank. In a powered tank with full size oars and blades, the mass of water, although moving overwhelms the small contribution made by the rowers. As a consequence the water feels too heavy because no acceleration of the blade is possible. In a rowing shell the boat velocity is slowest at the catch and then accelerates toward the finish, so rowers are conditioned to accelerate the oar handle toward the finish. However, any acceleration made toward the finish is impossible in a powered tank with the huge mass of water required and full sized blades. The water frictional resistance against
the total boat surface area (or, in the case of the tank, the total surface area) is initially small at low boat velocities, but resistance increases by the square of the velocity and power required is to the cubic power. It can quickly be seen that in any tank – athlete powered or pump powered, no matter how hard one pulls the rowers cannot generate near enough power to overcome resistance forces and move the mass of water in the tank at a
speed anything near what is experienced by the boat moving through the water. The tank can only simulate real rowing by trying to duplicate the forces as experienced in the boat. In an athlete-powered tank, the force in the tank can be closely simulated to what is felt in the boat by modifying the kinematics of the stroke. These changes increase the speed of the blade relative to the average velocity of the mass of water circulating in the tank. Athlete powered tanks put the power in the athletes’ hands and what they put into the workout is proportional to what they get out of the workout.
II. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A ROWING TANK The latest design athlete powered tanks are designed with an adjustable load so that the tank can be set up to match the skill level and strength from novices to elites. A wider range of stroke rates (i.e., above 30 strokes per minute) rather than just steady state rowing can be achieved, so that complete on-the-water training can be replicated. This allows training schedules to be maintained throughout the year come rain or shine. The latest state-of-the-art athlete
powered tank functions by exerting force to move the oar relative to the water with the intention of generating forces similar to what is experienced in the boat. The object being to train rowers both for conditioning and technique, while at the same time isolating them from all on-the-water distractions and environmental disruptions. It is an all- season economical rowing simulator suitable for serious athletes. In the K-State case a large mirror
to take the next “big” step in training, Force Measurement Instrumentation is useful for blending technique or as a sorting tool to put people with similar styles in the same boat. To enable instantaneous correction it is best to provide a graphical display that updates as the motion is taking place. This “graphical feedback” is difficult to focus on in the boat due to distractions. However, real-time force measurement system combined with the tank allows one to focus on the cause and effect of each motion. Graphical measurements in real-time of the attributes shown below, is an effective tool for all skill levels of athletes. Both on the force curve and the handle speed curves, cursers “+” on the port side and “+”on starboard moves to show the exact location in the stroke where a problem occurs. Also identified is the relative stroke length and slip at each end of the stroke by a bar chart, which graphically shows the root cause of slip at either end of stroke. Feedback devices add to the rowing experience and allow fast and steady progress toward a more efficient technique at all stroke rates. Real-time direct feedback strongly reinforces what the coach is trying to explain and it becomes almost an avatar coach for each athlete! For a rowing or sculling program
that has short on-the-water seasons or is prone to bad weather, the athlete powered indoor rowing tank is an ideal solution. Mastering technical aspects with the goal of perfect “blade work” can be further accelerated with a force measurement system that has a real time graphical display to enable self monitoring. ROW360
ROW360 // Issue 001 83
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