The spring season is over, and you’re getting a chance to catch your breath -- now what?

If you’re a high school or college program, the boats are on the racks and the athletes are gone. It’s time to lock up the boathouse until the next program begins. Before you close the doors, do some important homework. Clean up the gear, prepare for the next season.

If you’re a club, this transition time is a perfect time to step back, assess the fleet and complete an overall safety check.

Whether your next practice is next week or next fall, you should check your boats, launches and the boathouse.

There is rarely enough time or energy mid-season to devote to maintenance. Take the time now to get these tasks done; it will make the next season easier, safer and more efficient.

The Boats

• Repairs to hulls should be done now, especially if the repairs might be complicated. Waiting until a day or two before the boat is to be used again will lead to a rushed, and possibly inadequate, repair.
• Give the hull (inside and out) a good inspection. You may find scratches or crushed honeycomb (especially on the inside gunwale opposite the rigger where the oar handle can get stuck) that went unnoticed during the past season. Although not an emergency yet, this kind of hull damage can lead to more problems down the road.
• Check the shoes, heel-ties, tracks, bow ball, steering and riggers. All of these parts need a good scanning and thorough cleaning. If you row in salt water, all of the rigger parts and tracks need a good scrubbing. Salt water can take its toll on hardware. We suggest washing all hardware after every row and consider bronze or stainless fittings. Is the bow ball more duct tape than bow ball? Is it hanging on by a thread? Are the shoes cracked and threadbare? Take the time to order new ones.
• If you have lights that you use for dawn or dusk rowing, change all the batteries and check the bulbs. If the lights/boats are not going to be used until next fall, we suggest you replace the batteries just before next season, not now.
• Backstays need to be checked for bends and cracks. Backstays can be bent back into shape a few times and still be OK, but if you are seeing lots of little crazed silver lines of aluminum through the anodize, then it might be time to replace them.

The Oars

• Clean the handles. H1N1 (swine flu), MRSA and other viruses can make the next person using the oar ill. Synthetic handles accumulate oils from the hands of athletes during normal use. Wash with soap recommended by the manufacturer to remove any oils and other bodily fluids that have dried on the handles during the season.
• Check every oar for hairline cracks in the shaft. Although not too common, an impact like an on-the-water collision, hitting the edge of the dock or the side of the bay door can cause small cracks in the shaft.  You can probably repair these; talk to the oar manufacturer.
• Check the collars and sleeves for slippage or wear.
• Check the blade for any splintering of the carbon fiber at the end of the blade. If the oar has been mistreated (who would do such a thing!?), the tips can be exposed and the layers of carbon fiber can separate or chip.

The Launches

• Take the motor(s) in for maintenance. Outboard motors on rowing launches get used more in one season than the average outboard gets used in a decade. If getting the motor to the repair shop is not possible, at least change the oil (in a four stroke) and change the plugs for now.
• Take all flotation devices and hang them up to dry. Check for rips and be sure they have all straps and buckles. Do an inventory. Make sure you have enough PFDs for next season. Order new ones now.
• Check all safety equipment. If it has been sitting in a plastic box in the bottom of the launch, make sure that it is all dry and still useable. Discard any bandages or other materials that have gotten wet or damaged and replace them with new ones.
• Clean your launch. Take a scrub brush to the outside of the hull. If the hull has been in the water for a while, there may be growth on the bottom. While it may not be a direct safety issue, growth may affect steering, slow you down and cause you to use extra fuel. Clean any oil, gas and grime out of the inside, along with your coffee cups and junk you have pulled out of your waterway.
• Check the bulbs and change the batteries on your launch’s navigation lights.
• Make sure ALL gasoline is stored safely.

The Boathouse

• Store all your equipment where it belongs. Oars in the racks, cox boxes in their holders, the shop bench cleaned off and tools put away. 
• Everything on the outside of the boathouse should be secure and clean – no cruddy, wet socks left to rot.
• If your docks are open to the public, you should have a sign posted saying that these docks are for the rowing club and can be used only at your own risk. Better yet, make sure no one can access your docks unless you want them to.
   
  The next time the boathouse doors are opened, let it welcome you and the athletes. No one needs reminders of all the things they should have done at the end of the last season. 

Every boathouse has different requirements and the list above may be just a start. Take the time to finish this season properly, so you can start the next one right.

Willie Black and the USRowing Safety Committee