Inside the Guide

The Down and Dirty Guide to Coxing has everything you need to get started in coxing, and beyond. Take a look at the table of contents below.

Acknowledgements 1
Foreword 5
Introduction 7
1. Safety 9
Priority Knowledge 9
Traffic Hazards 9
Weather 11
Swamping or Flipping a Shell 11
Man Overboard 11
The Dock 12
2. (Crew) Seasons Turn, Turn, Turn 13
Fall 13
Winter 14
Spring 16
Summer 18
3. Tools of the Trade 21
Soft-wear 21
Hardware 22
Electronics and Voice 22
Coxswains and Weight 25
4. It’s All in the Attitude 27
The Coxswains’ Outlook & Psychology 27
Gaining Respect 28
Talking to the Crew: Pulling it Together 28
Giving Commands 29
Counting 30
Advanced Tip: Rhythm Speak 31
5. Sitting In the Coxswain’s Seat 35
The Three G’s 35
Steering 37
Handling Wakes 41
Stopping and Turning 41
Backing 46
Landing the Shell 46
Advanced Tip: Landing with Wind and Current 46
5. Technical Handyman 53
Advanced Tip: Puddles 55
6. Practice Makes Perfect 57
Communication and Steering 57
Warm-ups 57
Workouts 59
Seat Racing 60
Calling Practice Pieces & Races 61
7. A Racing We Will Go 65
Before You Leave 65
Race Day 65
The Race Plan 66
The Starting Line 68
Attention. . . . Go! 71
The Start & Race 71
After the Race 73
8. Head Racing 75
9. Glossary 81
Appendix A: The Coxswain Recording System 89
Materials 89
Construction and Use 89
Appendix B: Examples of Commands 91
How to Get a Boat Moving 91
Appendix C: Hierarchies, Check Lists, & Outlines 93
Novice Learning Hierarchy 93
The “Ready?” Checklist 94
Regatta Outline 95
Appendix D: Drills 97
Rowing Blades Square 97
Outside or Inside Hand Only 97
Release-the-Catch 97
Pause Drills 98
Cut-the-Cake 98
Position Drill 99
Stand-up Sit-down Drill 100
TopQuarter Drill 100
Add In Drill 100
One-Stroke-Ready-Stroke 101
Appendix E: Rowing Technique 103
Appendix F: Rigging 107
Appendix G: Other Useful Info 111
About the Author 115