Unless your coxswain is an IT guy with a fondness for electronic gadgetry, this is probably not your average Coxswain's Trick, but it is a cool idea and quite literally a hacker's hack: the Coxswain's Bow Cam.
This hack is just what it sounds like: a bow-mounted camera that does a live video feed to an LCD screen in the coxswain's seat, giving the guy at the helm a "bow's eye" view of the race course. Putting aside issues of practicality (and waterproofing) aside, you have to give this one credit as a clever workaround for the old advice that most coxswains get--"just look around the stroke man to see where you are headed"--which never really works as well as coach thinks it does. This Bow Cam idea could even be a hint of things to come as cameras get smaller and start attaching themselves to, well, everything.
The hardware and specs are a bit beyond the scope of this column, but the system basically has a small camera and battery pack that slides into the bow marker clip, with wires that run back along the hull to the LCD screen in the coxswain's lap.
We talked to the man himself on this one, Scott Laffer, on how he came up with the idea and how he has used it:
"I came up with the idea a while ago when rowing and coxswain myself," Laffer said. "I was thinking about backup cameras and how they used those for backing up. Well, in rowing, you are going backwards and [it is] hard to see as well. Made sense since there would often be blind spots coxing (in stern coxed boats) and, in my little flyweight 1x, I also got sick of looking back--and that is when the bow cam was born.
"I've used it mainly for training for myself in the single, but it did come in handy coxing in unknown waters such as training for the Head of the Charles.
"I have not used it in any races yet: I called United States Rowing Association to inquire about racing with it and they were going to check into it, as they have never heard of such a thing and were not able to determine if it was an 'unfair advantage' as there is no rule (yet) on this modern technology. The funny part of the story was that they wanted to know were they could get one, and I was like, 'Well, if you find one let me know, because I had to piece this one together.'"
This is no simple hack, however, and Laffer has gone through a few versions to make sure that the batteries could last for a full practice--but he has added some improvements as well, including a tweak that lets him use the system with video goggles when he goes out in his single. Wild!
We're guessing that we won't be seeing this hack on too many boats anytime soon, but if you get really tired of the coxing screwing up the set every time they lean out to check out an upcoming turn--and you know a thing or two about electronics and have some time and money to burn--then maybe the Bow Cam is just what you need.
Have a crazy gadget that you hacked together to make your crew better? Share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below.
Have a great rowing hack that you'd like to suggest for future inclusion here? Send it to us!
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