Bladework: The movie

Things to look for in your own action: study the video and freeze II at each point.

The stroke:

• The blade must apply a steady pressure against the water – not ripping through or creating froth.
• A lump of water should build up in front of the spoon due to higher pressure, a depression in the surface of the water is created behind the spoon. The extraction: the spoon keeps on moving at the same speed as it was moving horizontally up, but up, out and ......

The Recovery: .....

• The spoons move away at the same speed all the way to the entry....which happens when the spoon can go no nearer to the bows.
• The aim is to have the spoons lose as little speed as possible into the entry.

Entry : The part of the stroke when the boat is going it’s slowest.

• The blade enters when the inboard is way out beyond the frontstay.
• The entry is effectively more of a spearing in tip first than anything else, when the angle of oar and speed of water past the point of entry is studied in combination.
• A small backsplash may represent the water finishing off the change of direction of the blade through recovery to the speed of water moving past the hull. There is complete conservation of energy and maximisation of length when reasonable backsplash is produced, so it is a GOOD thing.

Quick:

• The spoon must be loaded by the legs pushing the boat (=>riggers=>pins=>) against the loom, so the boat stops decelerating any more as quickly as possible.