Last year I built a sliding seat & rigger unit for my rowing canoe. This year I've come across a modification question. Does anyone have any experience in adapting the sliding seat assembly to allow movement of the footplate for rowers of different sizes? Others have loved the setup and wanted to try it out, but I tuned it so the footplate is right for me, so people with different leg lengths and stroke lengths find that the handles are not ideally positioned at the finish. Most rowing shells have tracks that allow the footplate to slide fore-and-aft. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Hey Tom - As you know, for simplicity, our sliding seat system has a fixed foot assembly. The idea is that it is initially set up for the primary rower, and that for other rowers of different sizes it will usually suffice. Overall, for recreational rowing, performance and comfort are not heavily impacted by an imperfectly positioned foot stretcher.
Having said that, for some that come from competive performance rowing it can be important for them to have everything exact, and as they are familiar with. I think a relatively easy way to adjust the position of the footstretcher would be to simply have a means of being able to shift the position of the entire slider frame fore and aft. You could have the mounting blocks (the blocks where you bolt the frame to the boat) placed along the side of the frame, with a series of bolt holes drilled into the frame. You then simply side it to the position you want and bolt through the corresponding hole.
You may also need to adjust the position of the rails - especially for taller rowers.
