water moves, the faster you’ll need to scull to keep your oar in the notch. Again, the hidden secret to your success is keeping constant pressure down on the oar’s grip as you scull. It’s test time! Your first challenge will be to keep the oar in
the notch. Te second will be to scull a straight course. Hang in there and practice until you can do both. If you’ve come this far, you’re very close to becoming a sculler, so don’t give up! When you’ve mastered sculling a straight course with your oar in the notch you can say, “I am a sculler!” Te hardest part is over. Now let’s move on
to the finer points of sculling. It’s import- ant as you scull to keep the grip of your oar at about chest level when you stand or sit in the boat. This develops more power with the blade deeper in the water. Another way to in- crease your power is to use both hands on the oar. I would oſten do this when sculling my sloop. You can also use the muscles in your legs to assist with the push stroke, and the weight of your body to sway the oar back on the pull stroke. When you’re sculling longer distances, make the work easier by developing a comfortable rhythm which over time will become a moving meditation. Keep your pace steady. Relax, avoid tensing muscles you don’t need for sculling. Te width of your
notch. It’s as if you’re rowing the stern around as you scull, but your blade never leaves the water. Another way to scull is to assist your sailboat in light airs.
When you scull while your boat sails, the apparent wind speed on your sails increases and your boat will sail faster. Added to that is the extra speed your boat makes while you’re sculling. Secure your tiller and scull your boat as you would normally. If a header comes, scull the boat away from the wind until your sails fill. When there’s a liſt, scull the boat up towards the wind. You can even tack the boat while sculling if you want. As you’re learning, you’ll come to realize that using a scull- ing oar is much more ef- fective than the boat’s rudder as you maneu- ver through light shifty winds. When you sail while using a sculling oar, it’s known as using the Wooden Topsail. When I was beginning
to learn the art of sculling there was no one to help.
stroke is important. It’s normal for a be- ginner to push and pull their strokes too wide which is a waste of energy and makes maneuvering the boat more difficult. Bring the travel of your strokes in so the blade’s combined push and pull strokes are no wider than two feet. You’ll need to quicken your strokes, but they’ll be more efficient and will help you compensate for wind and improve your boat control. When compensating for wind, you’ll scull harder on one
As you push the grip of the oar away from your body, rotate your wrist to move your thumb up, this will angle the blade down and guide it closer to the hull. Te pull stroke is just the opposite of the push stroke. As you pull the grip back toward you, quickly rotate your thumb down. Tis will angle the blade down and guide it closer to the opposite side of the hull. Remember, thumb up for the push stroke, and thumb down for the pull stroke. Memorize that!
Struggling along with it, I finally came to terms with feather- ing the oar, and holding a straight course. As I continued to practice and develop muscle memory, I began to experiment with making turns and rotating the boat. It took determination and focus, guiding the oar back into the notch, remembering to pull down on the grip of the oar, and improving the feath- ering and width of my strokes. It has, over time, been worth the effort to uncover those hidden mysteries of sculling. Awhile back at a
boat show, I was told to move my Potter to another dock where a square rigged vessel was
side than the other. If the wind is on the starboard bow and you’re right handed, make your pull stroke a little wider and stronger than your push stroke to stay on course. When you rotate a small skiff in a circle, or a sailboat, which
is more difficult due to its keel and rudder, take a wider stroke from the same side as your intended turn. If you’re turning sharply, your turning stroke will be quite wide and powerful, but the opposite stroke will be short and feathered with just enough down pressure on the grip to keep the oar in the
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moored. Half a dozen of its crew stopped what they were do- ing and came to the rail just to watch the Potter being sculled. Down in Mexico, fishermen would do the same, turning from the care of their nets just to watch. People are curious about sculling. It’s different. Tey find it interesting, especially when they’ve never seen it done before and can’t quite figure out how you’re doing it. Now it’s your turn. Using the information in this article, it
shouldn’t take more than a weekend to learn how to scull. As you scull into harbors, hidden coves, or just to explore an an- chorage for fun, your newfound skills will elevate your abilities beyond the everyday mechanics of boat handling. And over time, as you continue to improve, you will hone your skills into an art form. Many people will stop what they’re doing just to watch you scull, wondering, “How does he do that?” •SCA•
SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR
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