Seeking a Boat Buying Guide for Dummies

[photofinish]

I'm relatively new to the buying side of boats. I've been an athlete for a long while and gathered information where necessary, but my knowledge is fairly shallow. Now that I'm seriously looking at buying boats (both for myself and for a program), I'm left pretty clueless as to what questions I should be asking and what types of boats I should be looking at. Unfortunately, most of the recommendations rowers offer don't go into technical details of boat (shape, material, weight, etc). Most of the boat preference knowledge in the rowing world, mine included, seems to be brand loyalty, usually of the flavor "well I rowed this brand of boat for a long time and it felt good." Not saying this is necessarily wrong, but without a reasoned analysis of boat design, my assumption is that there really isn't much of a difference between brands and most people's preferences are just anecdotal.

Essentially, I'm looking for any sort of comprehensive introduction on the different features to look for in a boat design. What are the trade offs between different shapes, are certain upgrades worth it, what brands are no-go's and why, etc. If anybody has a link or a suggestion for further reading, or even if you just want to drop some information here, I'd appreciate it!

[Minetti]

To be honest... I think in the end there isn't much difference in this or that boat shape. It boils down to just marginal differences.
But what DOES matter is the aformentioned comfort to be able to release all the effort to move that boat. And if you buy for a program, my most important aspect is fittings, servicability (who can provide after sales service and how prone to service is the boat in the first place) and adjustability - like, can anyone quickly adjust all relevant aspects, ideally without fancy tools, on the water, and also after 5 years.

[caustic]

From a technical standpoint, there's really very little variation in boat shell design when it comes to hydrodynamic efficiency, from one boat manufacturer to another. Stiffness, comfort, ease of repairability, availability of support, QUALITY of support, longevity, cost - those are the factors that are more useful for making a decision. and honestly, a lot of folks go with what they know, which is perfectly fine too.

[photofinish]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Insightful, but in different ways than I expected.

[fullmetal]

What questions you should be asking:
1. Intended use (skill level, projected wear and tear, rower weight)
2. Number of shells required
3. Budget
4. Is it a good fit with the current fleet? (Rigging, fittings, spare parts, adaptability--also, how expensive are spare parts?)

What types of boats you should be looking at: depends on all of the above.

Most hull designs are fairly similar, though the marketing teams will tell you that certain tradeoffs are more desirable and that their hull design optimizes for one or more variables. I think only Resolute is pushing the thesis that shorter waterlines and wider beams (with a monocoque construction) are optimal. The materials being used are very similar across manufacturers and across product lines (e.g. unidirectional prepreg carbon fiber and nomex honeycomb core for all top shelf racing shells). Every manufacturer has their own naval architect and secret sauce, though one or two budget builders have merely bought some molds secondhand and are making shells from second-generation or older (proven!) designs. For any given performance category (e.g. beginner vs. intermediate vs. advanced), the trade-offs are roughly the same: cheaper boats are optimized for more stability, a tad less speed, and probably are made of less expensive materials.

Despite the similarities between manufacturers, there are still some accepted truisms regarding quality from some manufacturers. Some have good reputations for quality, some don't. I dare say budgetary constraints in addition to fleet lifetime expectations play heavily into this -- if you need three doubles for the juniors program, you can't spend all the money on one super high-quality double; you'll have to buy three merely solid doubles instead (and given that they're juniors boats, they'll be used to pieces day in and day out). You are, no doubt, already aware of the reputations.

Unless you're buying for the national team, hull designs and material construction are the least of your worries. If you're buying for yourself, I guess you'll want to pick the marketing secret sauce that appeals to you the most for which you're willing to pay!

[lt.wolf]

“Unless you're buying for the national team, hull designs and material construction are the least of your worries. If you're buying for yourself, I guess you'll want to pick the marketing secret sauce that appeals to you the most for which you're willing to pay!“

You should be concerned with the materials and design used in construction on any level of purchase.

[fullmetal]

Wolf, how many major manufacturers aren't using unidirectional prepreg carbon fiber with a nomex honeycomb in their top line shells? How many aren't using kevlar/nomex + kevlar or carbon fiber in their intermediate shells? (Single sculls excepted.)

The big name offerings are almost all the same unless you're looking for sketchy bargains. And most manufacturers want your repeat business once you've standardized your fleet around them, so they're incentivized to keep you happy.

Now the quality of construction...that's something else entirely.

[lt.wolf]

Ha ha ha ha ha, I will be back once I have had less tequila.