The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-29

riggers. Sc he Jumped it all together and
made a big fin for a shell or the launch
Franklin OF something like that.
Out at Wisconsin they have to row on
rather rough water. the W lakes-Men-
dota and Monona-being rather inclined
is that the average boat used at Madison is
apt to be a pretty heavily rugged sort OF
thing, sitting well out Of the water. too.
When Andy O'Dea first came to the Hud-
son as coach Of the w i~sconsin crews great
many years ago he had a boat Of this rat
tern. He invited his friend Ned Hanlan
down to the house to look at the shell and
tell him what he thought Of the way it was
rugged and how it wal adapted to the race
course. Hanlan was always renowned Tor
his gruff %frankness n on some occasions
would talk more freely than on others.
1t happened that this was one of the times
when he felt just like telling what he thought:
Andy took him into the boathouse and led
Hanlan up to the craft. The veteran oars
man looked over the lines Of the huge craft
and then blurted out; why, Andy, that's
no shell! That's a battleship!'
Georgetown has no fancy ideas in the
line of shell building, for n good and
sufficient reason. That is that for three
years the Washington collegians have been
forced to use the came boat for their races
to get a new one. With Pat Dempsey it is
not 80 much a question of thinking up
bizarre ideas to test as to invent schemes
for making an old boat go like a new one,
Dempsey is so expert a mechanic that he
saves e h the b TIoTS vi pa; Glnb a lot Of n money ;nsf e eaeh
mon ability; it is not the fight of imagina-
ton that lea DIS to expensive failures.
The coaches all disa gree on the proper
length Of rowing boats Not any two OF the
six shells thai started in the varsity race this
year we're Of the same length. The Columbia
crew had the longest boat, something over
83 feet, while Cornell had the shortest,
about So feet, The advantage in a short
boat appears to be twofold, according
to those who have them. There is a greater
have as much springiness and consequently
being easier to drive through the water
when it is rough. Besides, the short boat
can be carried in an ordinary car on the
railroad. The Columbia people have to
have a special car of great length. the
The Cornell boats can be transported in an
ordinary car,
There are also very widely different ideas
in rigging. II a man goes into the boat
houses of all the other crews except Cornell
and Georgetown he is more than likely TO
find the coach and his assistants puttering
| around with ruler n measuring board,
changing the rigging of one seat or a mother.
Cornell n Georgetown do not do this.
| Courtney picks his crew and keeps 1t picked,
and the rigging Of the boat is unchanged
practically from the first OF April to the
day of the race, late in June. The George
town crews also ire fixed in that same way.
It looks to be a better scheme to keep the
boat rugged without change once it is right,
and the average coach is supposed to know
enough after a short time to get the rigging
exactly right and keep it that way.
The boat builders have a lot OF pretty
little devices. One man had a device to
be fixed TO the sliding seat that would pre-
vent rushing and insure the slide being