Single scull commute, is this a daft idea?

[Quandary]

My boat is wintered ashore about 3 or 4 miles along the Crinan canal from where I live. The lift out period is longer than I would like but the boatyard craning date is decided by the majority of customers. During the long winter lay up I will get the old bike out and cycle along the towpath to tinker at it, when I am feeling lazy I use the car. I fancy the idea of buying (or building from cedar strip) a basic single scull for this journey, however the only rowing I ever do is in an Avon Redcrest.
Is my image of skimming along the canal happily on a crisp winter morning at cycling speed misplaced, am I likely to be too knackered when I get to the boat to do any thing?
Can old, non-competitive, but usable sculls be aquired for a few hundred quid, (and sold on again if I am not up to it)?
Anyone who knows about rowing to advise me to try it or to wise up?

 

[snowleopard]

Anyone who knows about rowing to advise me to try it or to wise up?

I did win the odd pot for sculling in my uni days. A real racing scull is 26 ft long by 10" wide (yes, your bum overlaps the sides). They certainly shift, 10 knots being realistic but don't expect to carry any tools!

In my uni days the boatman always held my rigger while I got in. I once hired one at Holmepierrpoint and had no one to help me get in - it tipped me into the very cold water in short order!

We had what we called 'clinker sculls' for training, a little more stable with a beam of around 18" but for your purposes I think a skiff of some sort would be more appropriate, albeit a lot slower.

 

[lw395]

I think with the oars in place they are quite wide compared to your average canal, how wide is the crinan?

There was one on ebay a while back.
There are ply kits IIRC.
Maybe a kayak would be more sensible, if a lot slower and less efficient?

 

[Pete In The East]

Have you ever rowed a scull?

They aren't too easy as they rely to a greater extent on the blades to keep them from capsizing.

If you catch a crab, or loose your balance, you'll probably end up in the water.

They aren't too easy to get in and out of without a bit of help, but i'm sure seasoned rower can manage this and overcome all the challenges listed.

The other problem is you can't easily see where you are going.

What about a fast canoe?

I'd stick with the bike option myself, but good luck with rowing to work! It'll certainly help with your upper body strength.

 

[Dipper]

I have never rowed a scull but I used to row in fours and eights. Balance is absolutely crucial. All these boats are inherently unstable. Without the oars they capsize and if you don't get the balance right you can't get your oar out of the water at the end of a stroke. I wouldn't want to row one in choppy waters. Also, most sculls will have very limited space for carrying any equipment that you might need for working on the boat.

If you want a challenge, go for it! It wouldn't be impossible and could be great fun (especially for any spectators).

Snowleopard's advice regarding a clinker hull or skiff is a good compromise. I sometimes rowed in a clinker eight. It was heavy!

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Great idea Quandary - do it, far more pleasant and I would say less hassle than cycling as well. I would go for ply instead of cedar strip probably because its easier to obtain. I would build a small rowing boat instead of a scull because I assume it has better load carrying ability, it can be sculled too remember. If not build the scull.

Please wear a lifejacket.

 

[snowleopard]

Oooh! Look at this

Built in ply stitch & glue like a Mirror.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Oooh! Look at this

Built in ply stitch & glue like a Mirror.

Quandary, better wear a survival suit as well; it may take some time to be able to skim along the canal happily on a crisp winter morning at cycling speed. Remember balance skills get less the older you get! Its still a great idea though.

 

[timbartlett]

My boat is wintered ashore about 3 or 4 miles along the Crinan canal from where I live. The lift out period is longer than I would like but the boatyard craning date is decided by the majority of customers. During the long winter lay up I will get the old bike out and cycle along the towpath to tinker at it, when I am feeling lazy I use the car. I fancy the idea of buying (or building from cedar strip) a basic single scull for this journey, however the only rowing I ever do is in an Avon Redcrest.
Is my image of skimming along the canal happily on a crisp winter morning at cycling speed misplaced, am I likely to be too knackered when I get to the boat to do any thing?
Can old, non-competitive, but usable sculls be aquired for a few hundred quid, (and sold on again if I am not up to it)?

Anyone who knows about rowing to advise me to try it or to wise up?

My competitive rowing days are long gone, so I'm very out of touch, but I would say that you might find a sculling boat for less than a grand, and a set of sculls (oars) for a hundred or two.

Unless you are very skillful, I doubt whether you could build a viable sculling boat -- because there are serious stiffness problems in something that long and thin -- and you still need to think of the riggers, seat, slides, clogs, etc.

Sculling at a brisk walking jogging pace is quite relaxing: as a schoolboy I rowed the 120 miles or so down the Thames at a dead steady six mph (the pace was set by the "safety" boat that accompanied me) without raising a sweat. But as you speed up it gets dramatically more strenuous: at racing speeds (about 15kph) it is probably one of the most physically demanding all-body sports around.

The thing that is most likely to trip you up (almost literally) is that sculling has very little in common with rowing a rubber dinghy: it requires a completely different technique and different co-ordination: bear in mind that the boat is inherently unstable (i.e. it will capsise if you put it in water and leave it) and it would get even more unstable if you got in it without oars: the sculls (and what you do with them) are a vital part of its stability.

Mind you, I have seen things that look like sculling boats but with little floats under the riggers -- like the training wheels on a kiddie's bicycle (!) -- which could be just the job.

 

[Pete In The East]

That plywood thing looks a bit more stable than what I thought you meant (as below)

 

[arfa]

Try these guys

http://www.ahoy-boats.biz/TS515/index.html

you might find a second hand one at a rowing club that no longer uses them ?

Proper racing sculls are great fun but you'd need to build up to it.

 

[duncanmack]

Look at this...

http://www.virusboats.com/photos/skiff-shark.jpg

 

[Quandary]

Hi Pete, yes I can see me needing rescucitation regularly in something like that. I am sure though that I have seen training boats or something a bit wider than the one pictured. I would only be attracted by something that I could row at about 6 mph. anything slower and I might as well slog along on the bike.
I am a bit suspicious about some of the motives for encouragement, especially from Boots (are you sure you haven't a score to settle or something?) The canal is wide enough ( I can turn my 33' yacht in it without reversing) though far from straight and I would have one bridge to shoot.

 

[Quandary]

Vindicated

I was right then, it was a daft idea.
After reading the responses, thanks guys for the advice and warnings including the useful links and pics. it is clear that my dream of skimming along happily at twice walking speed or more for relatively little cost or effort was as crazy as my wife had already told me it was.
But how did she know, instinct or just common sense?

 

[awol]

Presuming your trip is from Ardrishaig to Cairnbaan, I would suggest a decent road bike and using the road rather than the canal bank. It will be a lot faster and less effort than the softer towpath. As for sculls - I liken the sensation to sitting on a high stool in a canoe, but places like the Royal West in Greenock have sea-going versions which can't be that wobbly.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... I am a bit suspicious about some of the motives for encouragement, especially from Boots (are you sure you haven't a score to settle or something?) ....

Absolutely not! Its a great idea going to your boat by sculling along. To be honest I thought you meant using a single oar to propel along a boat, not an actual sculling thingy.

Quandary, Crinan, keeping a boat there, and faffing about around that area (messing about in boats) is my idea of Nirvana. So, I am serious, its a great idea. Just not in a boat so narrow.

As for scores, there are none from this place, that's for sure. The idea of an early morning row / scull along the reach that over looks the the river what's it, sounds fabulous. It's a great idea, seriously, I dont know what else to say to convince you.

 

[prv]

In your position I'd row, but not in one of them cockleshell racey things. Just a decent old-fashioned dinghy designed for rowing. Might not be as fast as the bike, but more fun and easier if you have any tools or materials to take.

Pete

 

[westernman]

I did win the odd pot for sculling in my uni days. A real racing scull is 26 ft long by 10" wide (yes, your bum overlaps the sides). They certainly shift, 10 knots being realistic but don't expect to carry any tools!

2kms at 10knots takes 6 minutes 29 seconds.
That is faster than the current Olympic best time for that distance which is 6 minutes and 45 seconds and set at the Atlanta Olympics.

PS. I won at Henley Royal Regatta in my day.

 

[Searush]

A decent skiff will do the job - perhaps at 4-5kts but with the ability to carry eqt & tools (even your bike!) as required. Perhaps 15-20 mins of pleasant exercise & you can relax & glide from time to time. Have an o/b for days when you feel lazy or the wind is dead ahead.

Why not alternate bike & boat to exercise/ rest different bits of your body on different days?

 

[Sgeir]

Not a daft idea; a blind person sculled the Forth and Clyde (or was it the Union) canal last year, but, of course he had a team.

Getting in and out on your own might be bit difficult, and then there's the licence.....