Extendo-Bowball, a new type of bow protection device for rowing shells, produced by Black Corporation, is causing more ripples upon European regatta courses than a fifty-foot launch. The reason? The new bowball is inflatable and can extend several feet past its non-inflated position, giving crews using the new device a distinct advantage.
"Imagine coming down to the last 200 meters of a race, dead even with another crew," said Helmut Heinrich, a competitor at a recent European regatta. "Suddenly this thing extends from the front of their boat, and now you are down by two meters. I don't like it, not at all."
Barney Harrison invented the device last year after he retired from his job at an international pharmaceutical company. "Once I finished my job, I dedicated my all to rowing. Using what I learned in that job I feel that I have made a significant contribution to the sport." Harrison was part of the first research group that developed medication for male impotency.
Although no boat manufacturers currently offer the new bow ball on their equipment Harrison has found quite a market selling the bow ball to individual rowers. "More and more rowers are buying it. And it is making many finishes of races very exciting."
To date the outcome of seven races have been effected by the Extendo-Bowball, some by the distance of only three or four centimeters. The coxswain has control of the Extendo, and by the simple pump of his foot he can make the device extend. The trick is to not extend it until the right moment.
Presently there are no governing rules against such devices. However, an employee of FISA, the international governing body of rowing, who did not wished to be named said that, " Shortly I expect there to be a rule to prohibit such a device." He also added, " But until that happens you can be sure that I am going to put one on my own shell."
Extendo-Bowball should be offered for sale within the United States sometime in late Spring.