The ‘Storm’ is our coxed four person coastal shell that is ideal for team rowing, and training for competition in the new FISA Coastal Class. . It’s light and fast, and is ready for competition.
Training on the Storm is organized by Gabby Wong. New rowers are welcome. crew@dolphinclub.org
Extraction
Place 3 slings spanning the length of the boat in the prep area, usually next to the garage outside boathouse door
Lower the rack so that the boat is shoulder height
Place 2 rowers on each side of the boat, lift the boat to shoulder height, With your hands, slide the boat forward, towards the boathouse door, keeping it level with your shoulder guts down.
you may need to push it away from the rack, towards the wall an inch or two to avoid pinched fingers!
After the boat clears the rack, cox calls ‘to shoulders’ and you may rest the boat gunnels on your shoulder for stability. Walk towards the door and position the boat over the 3 slings
Cox calls ‘on to slings’ and place the boat, still guts down, on the slings
Rigging and prep
Turn the boat guts up and rest back on the slings, all rowers on one side, one arm across, lift opposite side and pivot using slings and your hip if necessary
Each rower needs to inspect his/her seat and tracks and ensure seat is secure and able to roll. Remove every seat and use your fingers to loosen/turn every individual wheel before setting out. Usually jiggling them a bit causes them to loosen up, but if a wheel is jammed and won’t turn smoothly, replace it. There should be replacements in the shell tools/parts cabinet.
Each rower should secure his/her rigger using the pins and brackets. See LiteBoat manuals if further clarification is needed. If the riggers aren’t easy to install, loosen the brackets to which they attach on the boat, seat the rigger, remove the rigger, and re-tighten the brackets. You might need to do this with the change of seasons due to thermal expansion/contraction.
Cox to mount rudder using rope assembly and bracket, this takes practice. There should be materials available from LiteBoat illustrating this.
Do not remove the pool noodles stuffed in the hull. These provide ample flotation and displacement in the event you get inundated with water to keep the gunwhales well above the water line.
Ensure the plugs and bungs (“caps”) are all securely installed and closed before launching.
Insert and test cox box
The boat requires extra flotation in SF Bay in case of unexpected water intrusion. Ensure the auto bailers are unobstructed and the floats (noodle shaped) are installed under the seats
Place oars on the dock
Ensure bow grip is secure, you’ll need it!
Rigging as a sweep
Decide if rowing in sweeps or sculling configuration, locate riggers and rudder equipment
To the dock
Keep the boat guts up, carry at shoulder height, with the outboard lip of gunnel resting on your shoulder, using your hand for stability and extra support
Proceed to the apron and call ‘way enough’
Into the Water
Cox calls ‘to waist’, using your hands lower the boat to waist height
Hand-over-hand feed the boat, stern and rudder first, into the water, as the final span of the boat goes into the water, take hold of the bow grip
Pivot the boat, using the grip, until it is parallel to the apron
Loading the Boat, push off
The boat is longer than the apron is wide, load the boat one rower at a time, starting with bow, handing the rower an oar so he/she can fit it into the oar lock
Move the boat a little bit each time so the next rower can get in
Finally, the cox gets in, allowing rowers to adjust foot stretchers and riggers, and pushes off when ready
Rowing… you all know what to do
If the boat fills up with water, you need to thoroughly bail it out before attempting to remove the boat from the water. If it is calm enough, a beach landing is good for this.
Although you should avoid doing so on the dock, you can rest the boat hull and skeg on the beach. Although you should not do this with a shell, LiteBoats are sturdy enough to handle it without damage.
Exiting the Boat
Approach the dock and land, careful not to damage the oars on the dock equipment
Cox out
Stroke unfastens oar and hands to cox on dock
Cox holds boat to dock and calls each rower out one at a time, sliding the boat as necessary
When getting out, hand oar to another rower on the dock before exiting
Recovering the boat
Grab the bow grip and pivot so the boat is headed straight into the apron, bow first
Lift the bow upward and pull up the apron until it can be lifted. Do not drag the boat on the wooden dock.
As the boat slides up, two rowers on each side grab the gunnels, and pass hand over hand until the boat is extracted, holding at waist height. As rowers lift the boat, position evenly along each side
On lifting the final stern area be careful not to clip the rudder on the apron
Cox ensures slings are waiting on the dock in the right area
Carry the boat at waist hight off the apron
When on the dock, ‘up to shoulders’ is called and the boat is carried, bow first, back to slings on shoulders using hands for stability
Lower onto slings, resting guts up
Cleanup
Remove all equipment, and other materials from boat
Remove rudder assembly, seats, riggers and cox box
Rinse and dry all oars, riggers, seats
Rinse the boat and dry, inside and out
Stow riggers, cox box and oars in boathouse
After rinsing boat flip (step 2 procedure) and rest on slings guts down
Allow all water to drain from boat, ensure none is in sealed compartments. You may need to remove bow plugs/ compartment covers, gently rock water out of sealed compartments
Dry boat with shell towels
Close compartments and auto-bailers
Put away boat
Lower rack to shoulder height
When boat is dry and ready, carry at shoulder height, bow first, back into boathouse, stop with bow pointed into rack from end
Thread the boat back onto the rack guts down, careful not to pinch fingers in the rack
Rest boat gunnels, on the foam covered rack, ensuring rigger brackets are not rested on rack pillar
Raise rack back to storage height
Where Can We Go?
The Coastal Quad is the primary form of team racing in Coastal Rowing competitions.