RowPerfect

A Rowperfect is an indoor rowing machine designed in 1987; patented in 1988, by Dutchman Cas Rekers. It is designed to accurately simulate the feeling of rowing on the water. Both the flywheel and the seat are free to move on a slide — this is different from the majority of rowing machines where the flywheel is fixed and only the seat moves. Its mass and movement are balanced and engineered to enable rowing technique to be learned and refined. This is called a "floating head" rowing simulator: the other type is called a "fixed head" ergometer.

The result is that the flywheel moves towards the rower on the recovery in an attempt to mimic the on-water experience of the boat moving under the rower more accurately. The Rowperfect is also unusual in offering a limited tilt seat (it wobbles) which forces the rower to consider his or her weight distribution during the stroke and recovery.

The Rowperfect is attached to a computer or a monitor on the RP for readouts of output power, time, rating, meters etc. The display also features a sensitive force-time curve graph showing how much force is being applied throughout the rowing stroke. This can be used to help all members of crew to work towards the same profile so they all move the boat together. Outputs are calibrated to athlete weight, sex and boat class and give readings aligned to on-water times for skilled athletes.

The sale of Rowperfect to Australian investors in 2005 appears to mark the beginning of a potential renaissance for Rowperfect. The software and hardware have been updated, and recent enthusiastic websites suggest marketing support not recently seen. Recent innovations have seen the adoption of a machine mounted monitor (MKIV) similar to that sported by the latest Concept2 models, Windows software and a touch-screen display. Older machines rely on a serial connection for communication of stroke data to a PC.

A new model was demonstrated in Seattle USA on 12-13 August 2006 which has radically adjusted the fly wheel, reduced noise and improved aesthetics.

The Rowperfect can also be used with new, more advanced software to enable analysis of the rowing stroke. This software can be seen at [http://www.row-ware.com Row-Ware] .

External links

* [http://www.rowperfect.com Rowperfect Main Site]
* [http://www.rowperfect.com.au Rowperfect Australia]
* [http://www.rowperfect.co.uk Rowperfect UK]
* [http://www.cambridge.rowing.org.uk/wiki/Ergometer The Rowing Wiki]
* [http://www.rowperfect.co.uk/articles Sports Science Articles about Rowperfect]