Is a butt print like a finger print?
Ok, so I promise to try to come up with better titles but I’m still stoked that this little project is working out.
Anyways…I was going through my pictures and came across this one I took of my seat from The Hunter in Beijing. I’ve been very fortunate to be the first bum print on many Empachers. There is nothing like putting together a brand new boat and getting to test drive it on the race course. We usually get to meet our new boat the first time we travel overseas to race and then race with it throughout the summer.
Since my bum bum is kind of bony and being the first one to sit in the coxswain seat my lovely butt print gets left behind. I hope one day all coxswains can experience leaving their “mark” on an eight. Let’s just hope it is not on the bow end of the boat and just in the 9th seat.
Posted at Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 in: News
Mwhip+
Yes! Every coxswain has a unique butt print. Mine has never been particularly bony, but I am very proud to have marked my turf many times. Your site rocks!
Pete
Thanks Pete! Glad you like the site. Hope to get you on here for reals to give your little pearls of wisdom to us. –mwhip
My butt print looks like this. “ouch!”
Or how about knowing if the boat is not set due to the fact that your left butt cheek hurts more than your right!
We just got a brand new boat for our boys varsity 1 and this little article makes me want to take it out for a spin even more. Being the first will definitely have its benefits.
Mary,
Love your site! It’s about time the 9th seat gets the credit its due…butt prints and all. I was surprised to see the Hunter has the wooden handles on the steering cables. I preferred the thumb loops on our old Empacher. Do you have a preference?
I don’t really have a preference between loops, toggles or knots. I usually hold the steering cable behind whatever is attached to the steering cables. Also no matter the length of the steering cable, whether it being loose or tight, I make sure to pull the steering cable taut behind me and push to the direction I want to go.
My crew just got a new V1, I’m in the process of leaving my mark first. I have to say though, I like the responsiveness of the Vespoli steering, I still prefer the Resolute toggles from my boat last year
in terms of steering i usually just hold onto the string. loops and toggles and such are sometimes unreliable especially in older boats because they’ve been jerked around a lot. i have a piece of colored electrical tape to mark the center and another to line it up to. i usually remark it every time we put the boat in slings to make sure it’s accurate. -Lucy
I’m also indifferent to toggles, loops, knots, etc. so long as there’s a little piece of electrical tape to mark m center. In my boathouse we’ve only got two 4 or 5 year old Vespolis for our 8′s, and to be honest I’m not even sure if they have butt-pads. My pants are thick enough I never really notice. My bum is sore either way.
Your best bet for steering straight in terms of the feel of the rudder cable is putting a strip of athletic or hockey tape on the inside of the shell next to each toggle, loop or knot when it is lined up dead center. When you do this, while steering, put your index finger and middle finger on either side of the cable then place your pinky and ring finger on the top of the gunwale and just steer with the fingers. This way your hands do not move ( good for balance) and you cannot make huge adjustments with the rudder (steering straight courses) and you can feel the tape with your middle fingers so you don’t need to look at any piece of tape to find the center. Whatever you do, be comfortable and keep your head up. Its taken me four years to learn how to keep my eyes off the cox-box and rudder wire tape and Im still working on these types of solutions. While writing this, I just realized how complicated I tend make certain things… does anyone else do the same?
And as far as my butt print goes, its like a lay-z-boy at sea!