More issues with standard blades at Henley Royal Regatta

Standard blades offer very little vertical control and can easily crab, dive or washout. The reality of racing in the real world is that open water offers no promise of smooth or controlled race conditions and experienced world-class athletes continue to be let down by current oar design.

RANDALLfoil blades offer superior control and performance in all conditions when compared to standard oars. Don't let 'standards' limit your performance!

Henley Commentators ... oar shaft drag

During the final of the Fawley Challenge Cup the commentators were explaining the negative effect of rowers digging oars too deeply. RANDALLfoils were specifically designed to eliminate oar shaft drag to improve oar efficiency and increase boat speed.

Elites taking note

Many thanks to Sean Heaney, Irish International Representative, for his endorsement of RANDALLfoils.

The need for a design change

Much has been said of what 'elites' are capable of, especially when it comes to technique.

Yet, there are many cases where 'elites' struggle to perform with standard equipment; catching crabs, washing out and nearly capsizing. On one hand, it makes the everyday rower feel alittle better seeing top athletes experiencing difficulties, but it also raises questions about current oar design.

The difficulties that EVERYONE experience with oars warrants a design change. A design improvement will make our sport safer and top performances more achievable.

What has been shown is that the application of a RANDALLfoil to the top edge of a blade eliminates the possibilities of crabbing and unexpected blade movements during the stroke.

Everyone deserves to achieve the results they have been working for.

How important is STABILITY ?

Watching the World Cup II in Poznań highlighted the importance of stability in rowing. Many 'elite' rowers found the unfavorable conditions greatly affected their performances, especially in small boats.

Standard oars are greatly affected by adverse and changeable water conditions and offer little to no stability, especially when you are trying to apply maximum force to the blade. One rogue wave can knock you completely off your balance and cost significant boat speed.

One of the overwhelming review comments of the RANDALLfoil design is the incredible stability the design offers. Blades with foils are simply not affected by the changing water conditions as wave energy does not disrupt the movement of the blade and loom during the stroke.

Consider how your oars would perform under these race conditions?

27,000km on the clock - In the boat with Bob Symonds

I started rowing in the fall of 2009. Since that time, I have rowed almost 27,000 km combined on the water and the erg. I set my best 2K time (7:12.2) in 2011 and came within one second of matching that this February. In terms of Concept2 rankings, I am best at 5K pieces and worse at 1K pieces and in between on 2K pieces. In summary, my fitness has been relatively constant since 2012 and my physiological strength is head racing rather than sprinting. I am also a lightweight (5'-8", 160 lbs).

Between 2011 and 2017, I have completed 15 1K sprint races in my single. I would rate two of these races as excellent with good starts, good overall speed, and great overall times (e.g. raw time in the low four minute range). However, in the 13 other races, I had various problems that slowed me down. My biggest problem has been very bad starts that alone cost me several seconds and one or more placings in the medals.

So my recent result at Dogwood in the F 1x was a dream, especially since I have not done a sprint race in my single for two years. Sure, I have areas for potential improvement (e.g. gearing) but I am now a real competitor in sprint races. I have never had such confidence with my starts until I started using the RANDALLfoils. I am gaining confidence, getting faster, and getting older. This is a great combination for a 60-year-old masters rower.

Do I have hard numbers comparing results with foils and without foils? No, but who cares. I row with more control, confidence and speed with the foils so that is what matters. The bottom line is that the foils help me do better. race to do my best and win medals so I like that.

[Footage of a 1km practice piece with Bob and Karen]

Cheers,
Bob

Why standard blades need pitch and RANDALLfoils don't?

Standard blades require pitch to create stability during the drive phase of the stroke. Without pitch on the blade the rower has very little control over its depth and can wash-out or deep dive.

Blade pitch, however, reduces the efficiency of the blade as a total horizontal force. Instead of the rowers' energy being translated into horizontal boat speed, some is transferred downward.

While blade pitch makes taking powerful strokes with conventional blades possible, 'elite' crews try to find that sweet spot between crew stability and maximizing blade efficiency, always trying to reduce pitch as much as possible.

With RANDALLfoils, blade pitch can be minimised (some users report 1-degree) without the loss of any stability, but gaining total horizontal blade efficiency. All of the rowers' power is transferred into direct horizontal motion.

Rowing with a Platypus ...

Click to enlarge

I have been surprised by the generosity of people willing to post on rowing web forums and the time they give to crafting arguments and responding to the points of others. One such generous contributor is called 'Platypus' (Yarra, Australia) who has modeled for us best practice when it comes to 'posting.' They have followed up the debate about the efficacy of RANDALLfoils on the popular forum "Rowing Illustrated" with a trial of their own.  Platypus presented a review of the design from a position of actual experience and I thank 'Platypus' for taking the time to test the design and to share the findings with the rowing community.

Re: RandallFoil
by platypus - Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:37am
"To all you doubters and hecklers out there that need scientific evidence before you get on-board with a new product: I've been using Randall Foils with Braca-Sport oars for the past month and are 100% certain that they offer at least one advantage over oars without them. STABILITY.
I don't give a rat about time trials, I know when I feel so much more stable at the catch. The foils have completely transformed the stability of the boat for me, particularly when sculling in boat wash or rough water. Some people might say that the foil creates more wind resistance. Sure that might be true, but the stability and confidence that you gain in rough water to me kills any negative wind drag effect. Furthermore, I've seen novice scullers being able to sit at the catch with blades squared and buried, for the very first time with Randall Foils. Then when they change back to standard blades they look so nervous and unbalanced and can't do that. Therefore, from what I've experienced and seen, Randall Foils definitely offer more boat stability and go a long way to help novices overcome fear of the water. As for scientific time trials for more boat speed: Don't know and DON"T CARE. Sculling well has a lot to do with stability and confidence. Randall Foils offer that.

Some feedback I received today ...

Montgomery Bell Academy the leading RANDALLfoil school in the US

Empower Oarlocks - Investing in Technology over Performance

I remember wondering when I first installed an impeller on the hull of my single scull, if I would notice the extra 'drag' ?  The literature made the point that the benefit gained from having the data far out weighs the -1% speed loss over a 2000m race.  Even though the data from an impeller is far more accurate, the advent of GPS systems is seeing impellers being removed to gain back that extra speed. It looks like we do care about performance after all.

Many clubs are now investing in Empower Oarlocks to measure and display in real time important data sets like watts and catch angles. Having real time data is extremely important, however the 'drag' of this system is far greater then -1% speed loss.  One of the critical design faults of the device is the limitation of blade pitch, as Empower oarlocks can only use a 4-degree pitch. Speaking with one of the engineers, I was told that it is to do with the algorithms which require a standarised setup. Removing the ability to adjust for pitch is reverting back to the old "technology over performance" mindset.

This design limitation makes such an important piece of technology obsolete as a 4-degree pitch angle is a standard set up for 'old' blades which need this extreme pitch to create stability and hold on the water. The RANDALLfoil oar eliminates the need for oar pitch as the foil creates that stability and hold, giving back the negative performance and efficiency loss that oar pitch creates.*

The rowing community has shown a high regard for on-water performance and are investing accordingly.... perhaps the engineers of Empower oarlock will do the same with future versions of their product.

* testing has shown that RANDALLfoils may be pitched down to 1 degrees ( pins set at 0 ).

MBA MAKE HISTORY with RANDALLfoils

Montgomery Bell Academy Freshman 8 made history today. Very proud of these young oarsmen who represented the very best of effort, determination and focus all year long for MBA. 6th in the Nation. Congrats to these young oarsmen and to all Big Red Rowing for a great year. #RowRed

Global News & Updates

  

7:45

S1 Club BIOROWER Review by Ian Randall

Banner Day for Montgomery Bell Academy

Note : image distortion caused by photo-finish camera technology

MBA competed in the Midwest Scholastic Championships: 49 teams from 9 different states with bids to the National Championships on the line. Racing a total of 9 boats with all 5 of the boats that we anticipated doing well not only made it into the finals, but they each also earned a medal! 1 Gold (2x), 2 Silver (Ltwt 8, Freshman 8), 2 Bronze (Ltwt 4, Ltwt Novice 4). We brought up 33 boys to the regatta, 24 of which are grade 9 or 10, racing many senior crews and finished 4th overall in the team standings. The crew who won the double had only 5 months of water time sculling and won the race in a photo finish (above).

Note: Freshman 8 averages 146 lbs (66.5 kg) with a 5'6", 119 lb (168cm, 54kg) stroke seat.

All MBA crews race with RANDALLfoils

Full Interview with Drikus Conradie

click here

Click here

Testing your speed

Many people ask me about +5% Speed with RANDALLfoils. 

It is clear that any rowers speed fluctuates over a race, a training session, an entire season and throughout a career. If you are serious about rowing competitively, you will utilize everything available to ensure +%speed. In an age of personal GPS and fitness measurement devices, you can know for sure if you are achieving +speed.

The bottom-line ... things that easily create +%Speed
- good diet
- ample sleep
- regular training
- effective power to weight ratio (lowering your BMI)
- well maintained equipment

The next level ... don't go blindly
Seeking ways to further achieve +%Speed comes with deeper levels of training, technique and advanced equipment. It is here that many athletes wander blindly and don't actually know if the changes they are making are effective.

You need to measure, track and record your speed to know if you are achieving +%speed, =%speed or -%speed.

I suggest that every rower needs to know three levels of speed:

     1. Top - fastest speed achieved over a race distance under race conditions (1km or 2km)

     2. Hard-deck - slowest speed recorded over a race distance under race conditions (1km or 2km)

     3. Running -  average speed during a steady state session measured against heart rate (and/or
                             power) and strokes per minute.

From this data set, you will be able to determine if the changes you are making are creating +speed.

Independent, evidential and anecdotal testing continues to show a +5% Speed with RANDALLfoils 

NO stopping MBA with RANDALLfoils

Montgomery Bell Academy has begun the season right where they left off - at the top ! 

Game changer

At the 2018 Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, TN, one of the premier regattas in the world; RANDALLfoils allowed me to medal in my women's 1x. On my way to the start line, a male single sculler asked me how I liked my Randall Foils, my response, love them, I never pull deep. Also, I sat for a while, blades squared, hands off oars to prepare myself for racing, I kind of think it freaked out my competitors, especially in those conditions. . Lastly, I used to hate racing starts, and yes, I had my doubts when first rowing with the foils, now, I don't even think about the start anymore. I think they are a game changer. Thank you, Ian, for developing such a great tool that makes my competition sweat. " Karen Symonds, Clearwater KS, USA

Rhode Island Rowing

Many thanks to Michael Hamilton of Rhode Island, USA, for sharing his thoughts and experiences rowing with RANDALLfoils.

"I totally see the benefits of a device to enhance performance, however, I think there is a huge market in the learn to row category of scullers.  This is why I am going to mount the foils up for sculling members to try.  Forgive me for highlighting what may be totally obvious, but I think foils make sculling oars so much easier to handle in general and would be a huge advantage to those first-time and intermediate rowers learning the sport of sculling.  Not only do the oars track extremely well during the stoke, but the blade depth in maneuvering the shells is also vastly improved.  Having a non-feathered blade unexpectedly dive or sink is virtually eliminated with the foils, allowing blades to naturally rest near the surface.  I find the foils greatly dampen any unwanted hand lifting that can upset the balance or stability of the boat.  Again, a huge advantage to youngsters or masters working to develop their stroke.  The benefit of learning proper blade depth in the early stages of learning to row is an immeasurable benefit.  As you have stated, the foils allow the body to feel and develop proper muscle memory needed to perfect the catch, drive and finish portion of the stroke.  At NBC we are all about expanding the sport of rowing.  I think your invention could help fast-track the learning curve in this sport. "

Pitching with Bow Mounted Riggers

Testing has shown that bow mounted riggers flex during the drive phase affecting the pitch of your blade. The degree of flex is dependent on your strength but indications show that it may be greater then 2-degrees of deflection.

RANDALLfoil optimal pitching is 3-degree or less and testing has shown VIII can be pitched at 1-degree.

However, if you are rowing with bow rigging please account for extra deflection and trial full pressure to ensure your pitch is giving you the non-slip 'lock on' feel RANDALLfoils deliver. Adjust accordingly.

Personal Best

Congratulations to Mario Laing for breaking his personal best time in the 1000m at the recent VIC State Championships, Australia

- this what we all strive for at every level of our sport - 

"I have found the RANDALLfoils made it much easier to get under 4 mins for the 1000 m while winning the heat of the D single at the Vic State Champs. At the end of the race I felt I could race another 1000 metres without a problem...they really help to hang off the handle and stabilise the drive to make the whole stroke more efficient."

Mario Laing
Personal & Social Wellbeing Coach

The season is starting well !

Leon Jones - Lone Wolf RC - Masters F

Congratulations to Leon Jones 

- 3 wins out of 3 races in Masters 2X -

- 3 wins out of 3 races in Masters 1X -

It takes focused hardwork, inspired effort and dedication to elite performance to stay at the top. 

"Where I have really noticed the RANDALLfoils is in my single. I am not missing water, the blades lock on immediately, giving me the confidence that the oars are ready for immediate pressure. I also seem to get a little more "send" at the release."

Leon Jones (stroke)

MELBOURNE HS WINS at the VIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Melbourne High School U19 4x for winning by an extraordinary margin at the recent Victorian State Championships against a high-class field. 
- Using BRACA Oars and RANDALLfoils - 


                       

Alastair Isherwood - A World Champion's Perspective

1998 Australian Men's Lightweight 2-

Those more mature members of the rowing community will remember a time when cleaver blades did not exist. Come the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, some crews had made the transition from Macon to cleaver blades, including Australia’s own Oarsome Foursome. After a disappointing result in Amsterdam leading up to the Olympics, the reigning World Champions in the Coxless Four made the decision to move to cleaver blades. As they say, the rest is history!

The future is now?

 In the years since there has been a slow but progressive evolution of the cleaver blade with Braca, Croker and Concept 2 all selling their “smoothie” equivalent blade. If one were to row the original cleaver “big blade” back to back with these new smoothie designs, you would notice a distinct difference in the ease you can control blade depth and achieve maximum grip with the water. Failing this slow evolution, there has been a distinct lack of innovation until now! Sydney School Teacher and rowing enthusiast, Ian Randall, may have come up with the next big thing in the evolution of rowing and boat speed. The “Randall Foil” is a lip that attaches to the top of the blade.

Testing I have extensively tested the foils and can make the following observations (with some changes to the set up of the gate/pin):

Benefits:

• Blade depth is controlled so there is far less vertical movement of the blade through the drive phase. 
• There is far less slipping of the blade at the catch and release, resulting in greater effective length and a more efficient stroke. 

Compromises:

• Having rowed with a foil on stroke side and no foil on bow side, I can say that into a very strong headwind there is a small increase in inertia given the larger surface area traveling into the wind. 
• The foils need to be professionally installed. After testing, if you are to commit to the foils they do need to be attached to the blades with the appropriate resins to ensure they remain intact.

Verdict:

If you consider the development of the cleaver blade, the Randall Foil are a fairly natural and logical progression in making rowing easier. With several prominent European rowing countries currently using them foils are only one win away from being an essential part of any successful crew’s equipment list. In 1992 there were several crews on the podium at the Barcelona Olympics still rowing with Macon blades. Having witnessed the extinction of the Macon blade those rowers must still wonder to this day what would have been had they been more open to change at the time.

Instagram Review

DD3 VORTEX and RANDALLfoil

"RANDALLfoil's are by far the biggest advancement in oar design in the last 10 years and I am a major fan of them". DAMIEN DALEY - CEO of DD3

DD3 VORTEX blades with RANDALLfoil's are visibly cleaner than other blades on the market. The DD3 VORTEX blades and RANDALLfoil do not exhibit any negative tendencies during recovery or in choppy water. Since the DD3 VORTEX blades and RANDALLfoil's introduction, it has been extremely successful at all levels of rowing, winning the Australian Championship in 2018 and two Silvers at the 2018 World Championships.

Rowing Illustrated - review from the shed

click to enlarge

Re: RandallFoil
Postby platypus » Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:59 am

I sighted the Randallfoil for the first time at our rowing club this morning. One of the guys at our club has been using them and swears by them. He attached them to his C2 sculling oars, which also have the vortex edge, himself by just gluing them on. He has also set the pitch to the recommended 3 degrees. He noticed an increase in boat speed from the very first stroke and from his own time trials is getting over 5% in faster times. Being a sceptic of his claims he has allowed me the use of his oars to judge them for myself. I'm going to give them a try next time I go for a scull in a few days time. I'll see how I go.

Link here
http://rowingillustrated.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=9&p=143778&sid=b73bd4dffb9d626bfac8fdef773dd828

Dutch Rowing Journal "ROEI !" Lead Article

Rowing Sports Medicine and Science Conference 2018 & FISA Coaches Conference…The presented studies and insights ranged from rowing in Germany to the blood vessels of the rower and provided plenty of inspiration. Innovations were also presented, one of them was striking because of the enthusiasm of the inventor, the Australian Ian Randall (45). His talk on Friday morning was titled 'A new oar with an attached hydrofoil limits diving and increasing boat speed', and that covered exactly the that. Randall presented himself as someone who had just come up with that idea during a sabbatical of his job as a fine arts teacher. … And then he came up with a piece of plastic about which he spoke now with fire and yet modestly. Columbus, that idea. Those few people with some knowledge of water to whom he presented his story did not even think it was a crazy idea. He claims that a blade with the extra strip gives it a speed advantage because such a blade has less contact with the water than a conventional blade. Randall's story can be seen at roeiblad.nl/nummer29. In the USA rowers have already scored pb's with this, he says. He himself rowed, as a veteran, five seconds per five hundred meters faster than without the strip. And for coastal rowing he sees great advantages from a safety point of view. How that strip looks exactly, and how it works can be read on his website. Rowing! will test his Randallfoil in 2019.
[google translation … apologies]

Drikus Conradie, New Zealand

Drikus Conradie, Stroke of NZ IV 2016

Drikus Conradie is an international oarsman of the highest regard who has represented New Zealand at World Cups, World Championships and at Henley Royal Regatta.

The Rowing community looks to Drikus for inspiration and guidance as he understands the heights and personal costs of elite rowing. He tasted the personal effects of international politics when the world governing body allowed a banned Russian crew to compete, taking New Zealand's qualifying place at the Rio Olympics. Drikus was the Stoke of the New Zealand Men's IV at the time.

He is currently compiling his experiences and insights as a rower and the wisdom that has been given to him by others in a book, soon to be published.

The development of the Randall foil has much to owe Drikus as he was instrumental in the certification of the design by the Henley Stewards. This was a remarkable achievement as the primary goal of the Stewards is to safeguard the traditions of Henley and change is always seen as a threat to the establishment. So a young New Zealand team with a new Australian oar design could up-end the entire sport. Drikus assisted in the lobbying and persuasion of the Stewards to permit the design and in doing so opened the way for the world governing body FISA to follow suit. Now we all can benefit from the certification of this design.

We welcome Drikus as the distributor for the RANDALLfoil throughout New Zealand.

Follow Drikus on Instagram http://bit.ly/DrikusInstagram

YouTube: http://bit.ly/DrikusYouTube

If you'd like to get in contact with Drikus, feel free to send him an email:

dhreex@gmail.com

2018 FISA Conference Berlin - RANDALLfoil Presentation

Thanks to Tim McLaren

I wish to thank Tim McLaren for his generosity and assistance in testing peak performance capabilities of the RANDALLfoil at UTS Haberfield, Sydney. The challenge of any new design is ensuring that it can perform at all levels, from beginners to elites. With confidence, elite athletes can utilise the performance benefits of this design.


"Your world-class athlete can perform with whatever they row with because they have a mental toughness that sets them apart. It will be interesting to see if they will consider exploring the [RANDALLfoil] design." Tim McLaren

Rich Kesor - Head Coach of Montgomery Bell Academy

I would like to congratulate Rich Kesor for leading his school's rowing program through a most successful 2018 rowing season.

Rich's dedication to his boys and staff is for all to see. Rich has personally checked over every aspect of his program, each boat, oar, down to each nut-and-bolt. Not to mention the hours of coaching time and driving boats to each regatta.

As a maths and physic teacher, Rich has understood the importance of oar performance and has considered in the past methods and innovations to assist the students he coaches.

It was under Rich's leadership that Montgomery Bell Academy was the first Rowing Club to put their full confidence in the RANDALLfoil.

Well done Mr Kesor, a world-leading rowing coach!

You can catch some MBA races here on YouTube

Historical 'foil' designs: close but missed some critical points

There have been a number of historical designs which look similar to the RANDALLfoil but simply failed to perform, this is why...

Braca Sport - Hatchet Blade

Both Braca Sport and Croker Oars have trialled 'wave' formation blades in the past. These designs involve extending the top lip in an attempt to capture the water flowing over the blade. The aim of this design was to create more hold or grip on the water. You will also notice some current C2's seem to have the remnants of such a design element. The Croker wave formation was disbanded in the prototype phase as the rowers were not able to extract the blade cleanly from the water at the finish. These 'wave' designs were not effective in preventing the blade from being buried and once submerged could not be released.

In contrast, the RANDALLfoil design does not employ a wave formation, but a distinct opposing surface which is set against the flow of the water - a hydrofoil. 

The primary design concept was not to create more hold on the water (though this has been one of the surprise results, a measurable reduction in catch slip) instead to eliminate all contact between the water and the oar shaft. The oar shaft is a pure lever and when in contact with the water acts like dragging a pole through the water. The buried shaft serves only as a point of resistance against the effort of the rower.

The RANDALLfoil creates a hydrofoil lift effect without the rower being able to bury the shaft through the water whilst employing a technical and powerful horizontal rowing stroke.

The result : faster boat speeds

RANDALLfoils eliminate oar shaft drag

RANDALLfoils eliminate oar shaft drag