Race Review with RANDALLfoils

Chris Lloyd, Bumbury RC, Masters Sculler

First some context - I am an E masters rower and have its less than four and a half years since my first Learn to Row. I have been fortunate to have dedicated and enthusiastic coaches over that period - especially Nancy Churchill, Director of Master Rowing WA, for the past two years.

My main motivation for trying the RANDALLfoils was the awareness that my bow blade was too deep during my drive, and although I had improved things to some extent it was still an ongoing problem. They solved the problem almost straight away, and I am hopeful now that I am developing muscle memory so that if I do have to use a set of oars without foils then I should still have the blades in a good position. I am looking forward to seeing my data from the NK Empower Oarlock when I try that with my oars & foils in the coming weeks, as I suspect that the slip figures should improve. Subjectively I feel more loaded on the drive with the foils on ; but it will be nice to have some objective data.

So how did my races go? I was happy with the majority of my rows. There was a firm headwind that got stronger and swung around a bit as the morning went on, but I didn’t feel that the foils were affected by the wind at all. I was pleased with my first race (C1x) and it was the first time I have held my course in the middle of the lane for an entire race. I credited that to the foils and the even blade depths, so that was a bonus. Second race (E1x) wasn’t as good but by then the wind had picked up and was blowing more diagonally. The third race was a C2x and went well. By that stage was a bit tired and had the occasional false stroke but I found with light hands the blades with the foils tended to correct themselves without too much trouble. Overall I was really pleased with the foils, and will continue trialing them over winter.


Chris Lloyd, Bumbury RC, Western Australia.

Rowing WA approve the RANDALLfoil

Rowing Western Australia becomes the first governing body to officially approve the RANDALLfoil for racing at all state-based regatta's.

Although the RANDALLfoil meets all FISA regulations, the long process of official certification is well underway.

I would like to thank Nancy Churchill, Director of Masters Rowing WA, for her ongoing support for the advancement of this innovation.

Rowing Australia Provisional Results

Trials of RANDALLfoils were conducted at the National Women's Training Centre in Penrith

Test Protocole: 

5 x 100% efforts conducted over a 1000m distance with a direct 'oar-for-oar' comparison, without altering rigging, gate heights or oar pitch.

Results: 

3% speed increase with RANDALLfoils

Reduced oar catch slip

Increased acceleration

For a full copy of the results, please write to Ian at randallfoiloar@gmail.com

Rowing Australia Trials Underway

A new aesthetic - RANDALLfoils on Instagram

 

Performance RANDALL foil's for Sweep and Sculling Blades

Clean Powerful Strokes

• Fit directly to the top edge of the blade
• Machined from lightweight and durable engineering grade plastic
• Will fit Croker and Concept 2 blades

RANDALL foil

What is Oar Shaft Drag ?

Oars shafts contribute to boat speed purely as a lever.

Oar Shaft Drag is the extent in which an oar shaft encounters the water, counteracting the forward momentum of the boat. The rower's effort moves the boat but with normal oars is required to move up to half of the oar shaft through the water.

You can see in the image below that half of the oar shaft is in contact with the water. The rower forces the shaft down into the water at the catch, pulls the shaft through the water during the stroke and then draws it to the surface at the finish.

Each of these movements effects boat speed, and when this is multiplied by eight oars and then by over 200 strokes in a race this drag effect is huge.

The role of placing a Randallfoil on a blade is to remove the oar shaft completely from contact with the water.

The untidy splash of a normal blade

Randallfoils 1.0 Launched

"A foil is a lifting surface that operates in water."

Randall foils lift and keep your oar at the correct height during the rowing stroke. Our studies have shown that boat speed is lost when an oar shaft is buried under the water. By attaching a Randall foil boat speeds increase 3-5 seconds per 500 meters.* In a sport of fine margins, the Randall foil is a game changer.

You will achieve a perfectly straight draw through, just as you would on a rowing machine. All your power is transferred horizontally into direct forward motion. 

You will notice some other advantages

- A smoother finish

- Better stability and consistency in crew rowing

- Faster racing starts

- A more even running boat wake

Randall foils are computer designed and precision cut to fit Croker, Concept 2, Empacher and Braca blades sweep and sculling blades.. Made from a durable and light ‘wearex’ plastic to ensure flexibility and strength that will not splinter or shatter if you encounter an impact.

*Speed increases were seen during our studies, comparing like for like, swapping only oars with/without Randall foils over various distances and conditions.

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Video Demonstrations