Giant rowing boat
The Gigruderboot (briefly Gig ) is a German rowing boat type for hiking rowing and rowing training. The German Rowing Association (DRV) has defined five different sub-types since the beginning of the 20th century, which are still widespread today and are of great importance in German rowing .
Compared to racing rowing boats, giant rowing boats are characterized by increased positional stability and robustness, but at the same time they are also heavier and slower.
description
In giant rowing boats, the rowers sit one behind the other, as is typical in rowing, facing against the direction of travel. Typically they are built as one , two , three, four or eight , more rarely as five or six. Usually there is also a helmsman's place. Gigs, like racing rowing boats, have outriggers with oarlocks into which sculls or oars are inserted for use . Also the stretcher and the sliding seat are hardly different from rowing racing boats.
Differentiation from racing rowing boats
Rowing boats for racing are designed to allow high boat speeds. As a consequence, they have various disadvantages: due to the poor positional stability around the longitudinal axis , they are difficult to row, especially by beginners; Due to their low weight, the design and the built-in manufacturing materials, they are not robust against impacts; due to their narrow shape, they offer no storage space.
In all parts of the world there are therefore different types of rowing boats that avoid these disadvantages at the expense of boat speed. In Germany, the DRV has defined five gigboat types (A to E), with the parameters of minimum weight, width at the construction waterline and the construction of the hull being decisive. From racing rowing boats, which are only regulated by a minimum weight, gigantic rowing boats also differ very clearly from the outside:
- Big rowing boats typically do not have closed air boxes outside the crew room. The boat can therefore be loaded over its entire length when rowing touring. For special purposes in high waves, gigantic rowing boats can also be equipped with closed air boxes.
- The gunwale is considerably more pronounced in giant rowing boats than in racing rowing boats. It runs the entire length of the boat. The oarlock is not mounted directly on the gunwale, but on outriggers .
- Big rowing boats have a keel made of wood that runs the entire length of the boat and is often provided with a metal edge. In racing rowing boats, the keel is built into the hull or has been left out completely for some time so that it is not visible from the outside. Unlike racing rowing boats, gigs don't have a fin either .
- The rudder is attached to the stern of the giant rowing boat and is always visible. Racing rowing boats, on the other hand, have a rudder completely below the surface of the water.
Outer skin and manufacturing materials
At first, giant rowing boats were mostly made of wood, and the hull was made up of 12 or 14 clinker wooden planks (types A and B). Above all, cedar and mahogany wood was used. Even if hardly any new plank rowing boats are built today, many of these boats are still in the inventory of the clubs and therefore in operation.
At the beginning the C-Gig was introduced at the instigation of the DRV, now with a smooth outer skin. Wooden materials can also be used for this (mostly cedar or thin plywood ), or plastic-based materials ( CFRP , GFRP ). The boat skin is much more robust than with clinker row boats and at the same time the row boat can be built more easily. D and E gigs also have a smooth outer skin made of wood or plastic.
The interior of the giant rowing boats is still often made of wood. Spruce ( spruce wood ), ash wood and beech wood are used for this.
| Type | Boat skin |
|---|---|
| A. | Wood, clinkered from 12 or 14 planks |
| B. | |
| C. | Wood or plastic, smooth shell |
| D. | |
| E. |
Dimensions and weight of the boat
Since the giant rowing boats were designed by the German Rowing Association with the aim of standardizing the boat park in Germany, there have long been extensive regulations in the rowing competition rules . The gigs were therefore much more restricted than the racing rowing boats used in top sport, for which there is only a minimum weight to avoid an arms race and for safety. The rules for giant rowing boats are listed in the following table, whereas today only the values for the two and four of the C-type are prescribed (highlighted in bold in the table below). Regattas are no longer rowed in any of the other types. The values that were once prescribed, however, still have the status of a standard and are still used by shipyards. An exception is the minimum weight, which can now be easily reduced by using modern manufacturing materials. For the C-type, the prescribed minimum weight is occasionally adapted to technological progress.
The gig types A to D are built relatively streamlined, so that the minimum width is only reached at one point just before the middle of the boat hull. The boat is increasingly narrow towards the bow and stern. Towing tests were carried out regularly by the DRV to determine the best running form. The E-Gig, on the other hand, should have a constant width in the area of the team room for reasons of simplicity, which has a negative effect on the running behavior.
| Type | Length over all (maximum) | Overall width (minimum) | Width at the KWL (minimum size) | Depth (minimum) | Minimum weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | |||||
| A. | 6.50 m | 60 cm | 54 cm | 26 cm | 30 kg |
| B. | not known | ||||
| C. | 7.00 m | 54 cm | 48 cm | 22 cm | 24 kg |
| D. | 6.50 m | 60 cm | 52 cm | 26 cm | 24 kg |
| E. | not known | ||||
| Two with stm. | |||||
| A. | 8.25 m | 90 cm | 75 cm | 33 cm | 85 kg |
| B. | 8.50 m | 78 cm | 65 cm | 32 cm | 75 kg |
| C. | 8.50 m | 78 cm | 65 cm | 32 cm | 60 kg |
| D. | 8.25 m | 90 cm | 75 cm | 33 cm | 65 kg |
| E. | not known | ||||
| Foursome with stm. | |||||
| A. | 10.50 m | 100 cm | 76 cm | 34 cm | 110 kg |
| B. | 11.00 m | 78 cm | 65 cm | 33 cm | 100 kg |
| C. | 11.00 m | 78 cm | 65 cm | 33 cm | 75 kg |
| D. | 10.50 m | 100 cm | 76 cm | 34 cm | 90 kg |
| E. | 11.00 m | 90 cm | 70 cm | 34 cm | <90 kg |
| Figure eight with stm. | |||||
| A. | not known | ||||
| B. | 17.50 m | 85 cm | 70 cm | 32 cm | 185 kg |
| C. | 17.50 m | 85 cm | 70 cm | 32 cm | 150 kg |
| D. | not known | ||||
| E. | not known | ||||
historical development
The development of the giant rowing boats was promoted from around 1908 by Oskar Ruperti , who later also became DRV chairman. Only a few years earlier, the first rowing boat yards had started work in Germany, so that rowing boats no longer had to be imported from England. After the founding of the “Technical Commission” in the DRV (later “Technical Committee”, TA) in 1910, the A-Gig was specified as a rowing boat suitable for touring rowing and training in the following year. The boat got 1 meter wide, which was felt to be too sluggish for use in competitions. With the plank construction, the outer skin corresponded to the technical state of the art at the time. As early as 1919, B-gigs were built for the first time by the Perdeß and Deutsch boatyards. The total width of 78 cm was considerably less than that of the A gigs. However, it was not until 1936 that the TA laid down the detailed standards for the length, width, construction waterline, depth and weight of the boats in order to achieve further standardization.
The C and D gigs were developed after World War II. Boat hulls could now also be made from lightweight form-glued plywood without the plank construction, which promised a significant weight and friction advantage. The C-Gig is therefore the equivalent of the B-Gig in terms of its dimensions, but with a smooth outer skin. The D-Gig is based on the dimensions of the A-Gig, but also with a smooth outer skin.
The type of E-Gig was developed between 1987 and 1993. It was conceived as a compromise between the C and D types in order to be able to take more luggage with you when rowing touring than in the C gig without having to accept the indolence of the D gig. In contrast to the other Gig types, the side wall in the crew compartment should have the same width throughout (90 cm) so that, for example, the outriggers and stretches can be made interchangeable. However, because this leads to extremely poor running characteristics in the water, the constant width is not exhibited by all row boats known as e-gig. The E-Gig is now a pure touring rowing boat.
use
Touring rowing
When it comes to touring rowing in Germany, the giant rowing boat types are by far the most frequently used rowing boats. The boats can be brought to the starting point of a tour on special rowing boat trailers, so that they can then be used on foreign waters. The outriggers and some components of the interior fittings are removed from the rowboat for transport. On a so-called “luggage tour”, any luggage can be stowed in the giant rowing boat, which is then a little deeper than usual into the water. During breaks and at night, giant rowing boats are often simply put down on a meadow or an asphalted place on the keel, which is not possible with racing rowing boats. Even the frequent passage of locks when rowing is only possible with gigs, not with racing boats.
Beginner training
Racing rowing boats are extremely unstable due to their long, narrow and smooth hulls. Beginners in particular have great difficulties with this and are therefore initially trained in gig double fours with a helmsman in many clubs . The boat is relatively stable, forgives rudder mistakes and as a crew boat with a helmsman's place it is very suitable for the first rowing units. The helmsman and trainer can guide and control the rowing movement well.
Racing rowing
Originally not built for racing rowing , gigs have long been used to participate in rowing regattas . Today only the C-type plays a role, which is why it is the only one that is still regulated in the "Rowing Competition Rules" (RWR) of the DRV. Rowing races for gigboats are expressly advertised as such by the regatta organizer, so that all teams participating in the race use the same type of boat. In most of the popular rowing regattas as well as in school rowing ( young people train for the Olympics ), university rowing and master rowing , gig races are often part of the program. In top-class sport, on the other hand, gigs cannot be found, nor are they used in training there.
Other variants
In addition to the conventional giant rowing boats, so-called “racing gigs” and “sea gigs” (also called “inriggers”) have been designed by the DRV, although these are of much less importance. Outwardly, racing gigs resemble racing rowing boats in many ways. They are almost as narrow, equipped with closed air boxes at the bow and stern and have no continuous gunwale. The outer keel of the giant rowing boats can also be found on the racing gigs. Seegigs, on the other hand, are rowing boats that are seaworthy to a certain extent and are particularly popular in Denmark. They are approx. 1 m wide and are built without a boom, so that the oarlock is attached directly to the gunwale. The rowers sit laterally offset from one another in the Seegig so that the oarlock spacing can take on a correct value when rowing oars.
The dimensions for racing and sea gigs previously specified by the DRV can be found in the following table. Today, the values are no longer regulated anywhere, but de facto they still have the status of a norm. Only the prescribed minimum weight is no longer complied with today, as it can be easily undercut by using modern manufacturing materials.
| Type | Length over all (maximum) | Overall width (minimum) | Width at the KWL (minimum size) | Depth (minimum) | Minimum weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renngig | |||||
| One | 7.50 m | 35 cm | - | 15 cm | 20 kg |
| Foursome with stm. | 12.50 m | 60 cm | 56 cm | 21 cm | 80 kg |
| Figure eight with stm. | 17.50 m | 70 cm | 66 cm | 22 cm | 120 kg |
| Seegig / Inrigger | |||||
| Two with stm. | 8.50 m | 100 cm | 75 cm | 35 cm | 60 kg |
| Foursome with stm. | 10.50 m | 105 cm | 80 cm | 38 cm | 90 kg |
language
The word "gig" is borrowed from the seaman's language , where light dinghies for the captain are referred to as gig . Typically, the word is used with feminine gender ("the gig"), more rarely with neutral gender ("the gig").
literature
- Wolfgang Fritsch: manual for rowing . 4th, revised edition. Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2006, ISBN 978-3-89899-111-7 , p. 26-29 .
Web links
- www.rudern.de: Boat types and boat types
- www.rudern.de: Boat technology in the German Rowing Association
- www.gigboote.de - a website of the boat yard "Baumgarten Bootsbau"
Individual evidence
- ↑ Duden: "Gig, die or das". Duden , accessed on April 17, 2015 .