On 03/12/2020 14:31, Jonny wrote:
On Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 6:40:33 PM UTC, carl wrote:
On 01/12/2020 21:52, Richard wrote:
On Tuesday, 1 December 2020 at 20:30:46 UTC, Phil wrote:
Clogs are the way forward, for all sorts of reasons!
Couldn't agree more! Why don't more clubs / rowers / boat-builders consider this simple, safe and inexpensive option? Forget old-fashioned leather clogs with brass or plastic heel cups - surely modern materials lend themselves to a solution that
provides adequate support while rowing, yet enables more or less instant release in the event of a capsize. Or have we become totally fixated on fitted shoes being the only possible solution?
I, too regret the passing of clogs! But back to shoes:
I understand the concern over shoe bolt positions, but any reputable
shoe supplier provides, as we always have at CDRS, a template precisely
defining shoe-bolt positions.
I think the market has spoken about the clog issue in racing boats!
Yes - by replacing clogs (which are quite hygienic, fit a wide range of
foot size & are totally safe for foot release) with shoes (originally
track shoes) which fit only one size & can trap your feet! BTW, we do
still make clogs for clients who require them.
Until I introduced the heel restraint cord into rowing, shoes were
trapping & drowning several unsuspecting rowers each year. And nothing
was done!
The problem I face often eludes Carl's answer. Even his company has changed shoe supplier over the years so a footplate in a 30 year old CD scull can be a hassle with new shoes! Many old footplates actually only have 3 holes drilled or only 3 bolts
installed! I have even faced the issue of a rower having a preference for a different shoe to the one that actually fits the boat.
Good rowing shoes can cost from ~£50 up to quite extraordinary sums for
really fashionable models. Shoe plates cost under £15. A new carbon stretcher board costs £50. So we're not talking large numbers for a
plate or a board.
As for 3 bolts per shoe? We've used only 3 bolts almost from the day we
first fitted shoes - because our tests showed that 3 were always more
than sufficient. In the early days the main problem was that the
running shoes then used were not made for the repeated pulling loads
that rowers apply to them on each stroke, so uppers regularly separated
from soles. We resolved that by getting a local cobbler to stitch the
soles to the uppers before we would fit such shoes.
Quite a few shoe makers are actually unable to provide a drawing or details of the hole pattern when asked! I know - I've asked.
That's not clever of them! And there are still some shoes whose bolt
holes don't match - from size to size, from side to side or from model
to model. One leading make, defined by stripes, once had that problem.
And their soles were cardboard-backed - so the spiked inserts could
rotate & carve through the cardboard if the bolt was tight in the thread
- one useless shoe.
When rowers invest considerable sums on clothing, electronics & time
(not forgetting the mounting costs of training, diet, travel, club
membership, regatta entry, boats, blades & "being a rower") cut-price
shoes (so often fitted with BR-approved but disastrously ineffective
heel restraint cords!) seem a dubious choice when perfectly good shoes
are not expensive.
Separate shoe plates (from the footboard) can be one way to solve some of the issues, but even that isn't universal to all boat types and has drawbacks of it's own.
Stretchers are not necessarily specific to certain boats, any more than
seats, tracks, bungs, riggers, steering equipment, etc. Too often I
hear people worrying over the inadequacies of foot stretcher gear and
the difficulty of everyone having the right size of shoe. But any club
keen to solve that problem could provide a simple stretcher bar and
mountings in each position and mandate that rowers have their own
approved stretcher boards with fitted shoes, just as they must provide
their own kit. Simples.
I've started by taking pencil rubbings from the bottom of the shoes I have in the workshop (no flat bed copier there) that look pretty accurate.
The scanner or camera gives true accuracy, as you know, but no harm in providing other options...
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email:
carl@carldouglasrowing.com Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: carldouglasrowing.com & now on Facebook @ CarlDouglasRacingShells
---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)