Your Surf Ski experience

Hello all,

For my graduation assignment, performed at the university of Delft (the Netherlands), I’m going to design a single persons rowing boat for sea conditions. Nowadays, rowers are avoiding rough conditions as much as possible, but my challenge is to change that with my new design. I want to add a new experience to the rowing sport that my boat is going to provide.

Because you already practice a sport in more or less the same conditions as my rowing boat is going to be into, I really like to get some input from your experiences. I am very curious on how you practice the sport, what motivates you and how you feel to it. Therefore, I made a small list with the most important questions to me. It would be very helpful if some of you can answer those questions. Discussions on those questions are interesting for me as well. Thank you very much!

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General information:
Sex:
Age:

Sport related questions:
- Can you explain how you practice the sport?
(Where do you practice it? How are the weather conditions? How do you prepare? What are you doing exactly when you are in the water?)

- What are elements/factors that attract you to practice the sport? (Please explain them)

- How would you describe the people practicing the sport?
(Think of age, gender, characteristics, lifestyle)

- Can you try to describe the way you feel when practicing the sport? What is it doing to you and why?)

- Can you think of some characteristics that fit the sport well? (Name a few ones you think they fit best and explain why. For example: extreme, calm, fast, slow, enjoyable, free, ordinary, playful)

Some other (comparable) sports performed at open water/sea are surfing, sea kayaking, surf kayaking, wave skiing, surf rowing and rowing
- If you ever tried one of these sports, can you explain how the experience and feel differs from your sport?

Thanks again!

Any git that takes a rowboat out in the conditions we head out in is an idiot.

I gotta agree with RAB.

I don't understand the art of rowing on an ocean, but can the boat handle 6m swells & 20+knot winds?

I would be a bit worried sitting there, paddling backwards with long oars moving around the side of the boat. Remember that in bad conditions a lot of us use very short paddles (210cm?)...

Maybe you can describe the boat you plan to build, and what conditions you were thinking of... Maybe in Holland the waves are a bit smaller...

Richard

How one will handle the surf if looking backwards ? I'm a bit confused.

Anne

I have been a competitive Cornish Pilot Gig Rower for many years. We will row in just about anything other than breaking waves. As long as we can safely launch we will row. For those not in the know a pilot gig is 32ft x 4.6ft wide and made of wood. It has 6 rowers and a Cox. Sometime it is best not to know what is coming we leave that to the Cox. I have seen a few prototype single seated of offshore rowing boats and tried a few myself and would not take one off shore other than in good conditions. You are low in the water and no one can see you between the swell. I have had a surf ski for a few years now and keep close to shore. To chicken to go further out.

Rightarmbad wrote: Any git that takes a rowboat out in the conditions we head out in is an idiot.

So you're calling all the Aussie surf boat rowers idiots. You might want to keep that thought to yourself!

You won't find a surf boat anywhere but close to the shore.
I also stood and watched the Aussie titles as the surf boats one after another were swamped.

Once swamped, they are nothing but a semi floating obstacle, unable to get going again.

The same conditions that single surf skis were fine.

I stand by my comments.

Rightarmbad wrote: You won't find a surf boat anywhere but close to the shore.
I also stood and watched the Aussie titles as the surf boats one after another were swamped.

Once swamped, they are nothing but a semi floating obstacle, unable to get going again.

The same conditions that single surf skis were fine.

I stand by my comments.

Ignorance is bliss. Another RAB comment clearly demonstrating that you've got no idea what your talking about. Sometimes I actually wonder if you do any paddling.

If anyone thinks aussie surf boats can't handle big waves, go look at the photos in the Warriewood Surf Club.
There's a photo there of a surf boat coming down a wave that if its not 30ft I'll eat my paddle.
As an ex boat rower and continuous ski paddler, the surf boats are alot more tricky to get right and can be bloody dangerous when you get it wrong but hell, they are alot of fun!!!!
As for a single person ocean row boat I suggest you look at some of the designs that were used to cross the Atlantic etc and strip them down for short haul use.

As it happens surfboats are at least as capable in the surf as a single ski. I feel qualified to make that comment after rowing them for 25 years and having been a paddler for the last 10.

It amazes me that me that you felled compelled to comment on something that you obviously have no experince in.

As it happens surfboats are at least as capable in the surf as a single ski. I feel qualified to make that comment after rowing them for 25 years and having been a paddler for the last 10.

It amazes me that me that you felled compelled to comment on something that you obviously have no experience in.

@Anne, are you talking about a boat like the ones on this page:
www.angusadventures.com/oceanrowing/rowboats.html

@SAWHITE - pls link me to some of those pics - I'm interested but I went to the Warriewood SLC website and only found pics of the Boat Festival, Masters Day and Freshwater Day.

I'd like to know a bit about how this works - am I really the only one here not trying to flame someone else?

Thanks...

The photo isn't on their website. Its actually hanging on the wall of the club. I haven't been in there in a few years but i have never forgotten the photo!

Darn, its a bit far from Cape Town

Wow, a lot of replies! Thanks!

@ Ric, the boat you showed in your link is an ocean rowing boat, it is built to cross entire oceans. I think this link represents my idea better: www.virusuk.demon.co.uk/turboskiff/index.html
It is about a small rowing boat, for one person, very manouvrable and stable. The swells in Holland are indeed less impressive, that's why I think in Holland we can row this kind of boats on sea. (actually, it is already happening)

Anyway, the questions I posted yesterday are not about the design of my boat, but about your sport and your experiences. Therefore, it would still be very useful to me if some of you can spent about 10 minutes to answer them! Drapes, maybe you can fill in the questionaire for surf rowing, and Ric for surf ski? (if you want it to be private you can also sent me an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Anne

I've seen a few solo ocean rowing sculls designs. The one that impressed me the most...or at least looked the best was from Leo Coastal Rowing.

www.leocoastalrowing.com/Leo_Coastal_Row...lsingborg_I_ENG.html

There are some better pictures of it here.

www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthre...will-be-my-next-boat!


The other ones that look interesting are the Echo designs, esp the Ace.

www.echorowing.com/

Good luck with your project.

Also, one other video that I really enjoyed which explains the different types of ocean sculls.

To my flamers.
When you say row boat, the image that comes to most peoples mind is an open top vessel.
Such as a surf life saving type.

Yes they may get in and out of the surf for the purpose of a carnival, but an open ocean going vessel they are not.
Once swamped they are useless.

They are no longer used in rescue nor are surf skis for that matter.

My own experience only extends to a two man plus cox boat that I have stored away and some super skinny sculls, neither of which are what I would call sea worthy.

Please feel free to tell me about some open ocean crossings that have been done in surf lifesaving craft.
Nobody I know has heard of anything, only in and out of the surf break stuff which leaves them half full of water and usually half of the competitors swamped out of the boat or similar.

Some of the sit on top and closed top boats linked here are a different matter, but interesting.
I think you will find that the row boats for crossing oceans spent many days not rowing due to conditions.

My comments may have been premature and not well considered when taken in the light of the specialty vehicles linked here, but after all it is only my personal opinion, tainted by what I have experienced personally.

That's what happens when you actually post on a forum and keep it alive, unlike most arm chair experts here with 5 posts to their name that are too scared to post their own opinion and leave it open to public scrutiny.

Flame away, I've got a tough skin.

I'm looking forward to your pictures of a surf life saving boat more than a couple of hundred meters from the shore, and in any attitude other than direct on to the waves.