Greetings,

My name is Travis Sippel. I am a senior University of Kansas (USA)
Mechanical Engineering student and am on a team that is designing a new
piece of rowing/sculling training equipment designed to make the sport
and training more competitive by allowing a slight amount of control
over a boat's speed. In order to make our equipment as useful as
possible, we would like to talk to some rowing experts (YOU!) to better
understand what you expect from rowing equipment.

If you're interested in helping, below I've attached a list of
questions you could respond to. Any information you provide us with
will be used strictly for classwork and product development only. We
are a group of engineering students, not a company. Your responses
would help our project team to understand the equipment needs of avid
rowers and scullers such as yourselves. Our group has a class deadline
on Tuesday morning (Feb. 14th), so input provided before that time
would be even more beneficial. If you would like to respond but can't
respond before then, that's OK. The more input the better!

We appreciate your input. Hopefully our final product will be
something that all rowers and scullers can benefit from.

Travis Sippel
Student, Univ. of Kansas Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
tsippel_AT_ku.edu


~~~~~
QUESTIONS:
~~~~~

1. Please describe your current rowing skill level (beginner,
recreational, advanced, expert):

2. What brand and type of canoe/boat do you use?

3. Do you currently use any aftermarket boat accessories for training
or leisure purposes? If so, please list them and describe their
purpose.

4. If a product was available that increased the competitiveness of
rowing by providing some control over a rowing team's top speed,
would you use it for training or enjoyment?

5. What type of demands would you have of a training product like this
(in terms of portability, strength, versatility, ease of setup, ease of
use, attachment to boat)?

6. How much would you be willing to spend on a product like this?

7. Can you think of any training products or boat accessories you have
used that didn't meet your expectations? Why were they inadequate?

Thanks again for your input!

My 15 yr old son is into Crew. Considering that his 8 man boat just
won the regional 1500 meter sprint, I'd call him advanced.

They row a well known crew boat brand which escapes me right now.

They practice on "Erging" machines every day.

They might use a new device if it provided an edge in training or
competition.

Ease of use and portability are major issues for most smaller teams

Cost is an issue for smaller teams and I'd have to say that $1000 is an
upper limit depending on how well it worked.

1. Please describe your current rowing skill level (beginner,
recreational, advanced, expert):

Advanced recreational-expert


2. What brand and type of canoe/boat do you use?

Little River Marine Olympus single


3. Do you currently use any aftermarket boat accessories for training
or leisure purposes? If so, please list them and describe their
purpose.

No - don't compete


4. If a product was available that increased the competitiveness of
rowing by providing some control over a rowing team's top speed,
would you use it for training or enjoyment?

Given that competition in rowing is about getting down the course as fast as
possible, why would one want to "control" the speed? If by control you mean
enhance, every incremental advance (lighter boat, boat shape, blade shape,
shaft composition, motion analysis, etc.) is implemented immediately by
those who can afford them.


5. What type of demands would you have of a training product like this
(in terms of portability, strength, versatility, ease of setup, ease of
use, attachment to boat)?

Ah - it's a training product - not a speed control. And it attaches to a
boat, rather than static use. Interesting.

If it can't be left attached to the boat, all of the above will be
important.


6. How much would you be willing to spend on a product like this?

Depends on the advantage gained. Is it for sculls or sweeps? If needed on
a per-person basis (for multi-person crews), $1000 at top levels is not
expensive for an enhancement.


7. Can you think of any training products or boat accessories you have
used that didn't meet your expectations? Why were they inadequate?

N/A for me, as my objective wasn't competition in later years, so I didn't
do training gear. When I was competing, I didn't bother to think - that was
the coaches' job. 3 national championships, three undefeated seasons, and a
single loss (second) in the finals of the 4th (sophomore) suggested they did
a reasonable job :{))

L8R

Skip, reduced to sculling a porta-bote in the future, as otherwise it won't
go on the boat!


--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely nothing-half so
much worth doing as simply messing, messing-about-in-boats; messing about in
boats-or *with* boats.
In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's
the charm of it.
Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get
anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and
you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."