{"id":33544,"date":"2024-07-30T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T22:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=33544"},"modified":"2024-07-22T16:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T23:25:00","slug":"success-on-the-oars-whats-the-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2024\/07\/30\/success-on-the-oars-whats-the-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"Success on the Oars: What’s the Catch?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most critical application of blade skills is the one I often blunder. On a recent trip down the Grand Canyon, at the crux move of the crux rapid on arguably the crux river in the nation, I blew my line with a failed brace.<\/p>\n

There I was, hovering in the eddy above Lava. It was my first time captaining a raft down the Colorado River, and as the sweep boat for my crew, I was puckered. When the second of our five-boat crew flipped, I ran my turn down the rapid without breathing. It all looked square until I hit the Big Kahuna, the final and largest wave in the train. With my oars in the water in a forward push stroke trying to be a brace, for a split second, it was as though I had crested the wave and might slip off the back side, unscathed.<\/p>\n

My heavy backstack, the biggest in our lot of boats, didn\u2019t work in my favor. Stalled out, posted like a hood ornament on the crest of the wave, I had a 50\/50 chance of making it. But like an old-fashioned VCR rewinding in slow motion, led by my heavy backstack, my boat began to fall backward into the hole. I saw the sky. I blew one oar and then the other. In a split second, I was catapulted upstream and disappeared into the drink.<\/p>\n

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I was convinced I had flipped. I could feel the tug of the water on my helmet strap choking my neck and I recall thinking, so this is what a washing machine feels like. But in a flash, I resurfaced. In a trough, I waited for a peak to survey the scene and look for my boat. Downriver and closer to the eddy, behind Cheese Grater Rock, my boat was upright with oars intact rowing itself to shore. I, on the other hand, was farther left, and had to scramble to make the eddy.<\/p>\n

What you do with your blades matters\u2014a lot. In this article, I explain the importance of the oar blade, fulcrum setups, and techniques of blade management to the rower\u2019s advantage.<\/p>\n

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Oar Anatomy and Set-Up
\n<\/strong>Dissecting an oar and understanding the purpose of each part is a good place to start when analyzing how to best use the blade. From top to bottom, the grip is where you hold the oar, the blade is on the farthest extent of the oar, and the shaft connects the two. The neck is where the blade connects to the shaft. This becomes important when assessing the integrity of your oar for weaknesses. Fractures commonly form in the neck, especially for oars that aren\u2019t one continuous piece of wood but are instead two pieces that screw or slide together at the neck.<\/p>\n

The continuity of materials affects the catch, and a rower can feel it through the grip of the oar. The push and pull of the current transmute from the blade to the rower through the shaft and into the grip. This process is not unlike a bird’s wing catching air or a dolphin\u2019s flipper catching current. Think of the oars as an extension of your body. With one continuous piece of wood, you can receive more information from your blade than with a disruption in the material\u2014as in two separate pieces screwed together. In this way, the rower can meld with their oars as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Catch and Power Face
\n<\/strong>The power face is the action side of the blade. A catch occurs when the blade engages the current to maneuver the boat. Think of a parachute in the wind and the paraglider’s ability to steer the wing by pulling on strings. When the power face of the blade is in an active position a catch will occur enhancing the boat’s agility. Shifting the power face into a non-active or neutral position removes the catch. All the angles between neutral and active are also options. Masterfully shifting the blade in and out of a power face direction feels like painting with a giant paintbrush. Two at the same time, in fact.<\/p>\n