I’m looking to buy a single scull for myself, are you able to advise?
I’m an intermediate masters rower, with about 6 years experience in rowing.
I row in pretty harsh conditions, tidal salt water with high chances of grounding at times and will be stored outside in a cover.
I compete occasionally, and am pretty fit and determined to improve. So whilst I’m a recreational rower, I like to perform as well as I am able.
So, based on this and my budget – £3-4000, would you go New? Or a second hand?
When asking for advice from Rowperfect, the best bet for you is to use the search feature on the Rowperfect website….
You see, we have been blogging since 2007 and probably someone else has asked the same question and we have published an answer.
I put in “Second Hand Boat” and got two good results:
Choosing single scull for your price
Now my answer for your specific situation is this:
I always think you should buy the best boat you can afford – BUT the chance of grounding is a challenge.
External storage is fine – I recommend you get a UV resistant boat cover like the ones we sell in our shop. (I kept my Filippi single outside for a year in Cambridge UK and the boat was fine, but the carbon wing rigger wasn’t inside the cover and the gel coat slowly came off on the part of the rigger exposed to daylight).
Salt water is not a problem as long as you use detergent and wash your boat well and dry it after each outing. Once a year take the riggers off and the gates and the foot stretchers and slides (all the easily removable parts) and get rid of all salt residue.
Secondly go and try out as many different boat designs as you can. Ask every manufacturer where you can try one (new). And also ask if they have ex-demo boats to sell cheap. Then ask people in your club who have private boats if you can try them. Use your own oars every time. Know the right (span, rigger height and pitch) of your current boat so you can compare like-with-like if possible. Try each boat more than once (unless you hate it straight off) and if you can, try boats designed for the same weight athlete as yourself, that helps too.
Hopefully this answers your question.
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When you watch a golfer hit a shot many times they look down at their divot which they use as guidance as to what did or did not happen in their swing. When rowing I suppose our”divot” is a puddle. Can you read much into a puddle? Does such a thing as a perfect puddle exist? What if anything should you be looking for?