Slick Sculling Blade

The Slick Sculling Blade in normally assembled with a 40mm hook. A smaller blade is available for women and schoolgirls who want slightly lighter load at the catch. Slick Blades are available on all shafts.

The Slick Blade has no ridgeline so there is less splash at the catch. The low volume blade enters the water quickly and quietly and floats low in the water. The longitudinal curvature is perpendicular to the tip and so is in line with the flow of water. It has a constant pitch across the tip and all lines parallel to the tip.

Our standard full slick blade is one of the largest traditional hatchet/cleaver style blades available.

The Slick Blade does not exhibit any negative tendencies during recovery or in bad weather.

The blade can be reduced in size--"cutaway"-- for women and schoolgirls, or those who have a history of back/rib injuries.

Because of the arc path followed by the blade during the stroke, this cutaway section is most effective when the blade moves through the 'sweet spot' and water hits the face of the blade most directly. With less surface area, the cutaway blade encounters less resistance because some water flow is not 'stopped' by the missing piece. One would row a cutaway slick at longer shaft length than one would a full slick. For crews who might find the full slick was too much load at their preferred length, the only option (besides cutting it down) is to shorten the overall adjustable length of the oar.

For some, this can be uncomfortably (and ineffectively) short as they seek to find a manageable load rigging, and not appropriate to some specific rowing styles. The cutaway allows these rowers to use the more familiar and traditional lengths by reducing the load at the bladeface, allowing them to extend the oar back out to where they like it. Slick cutaway blades are regularly rowed to world championship medals, the same as full slick blades, on both Superlight and Soft Superlight shafts.

Sculling Handles

Selecting a handle that is correct for you is necessary to achieve the best performance. A handle that is too small will cause trouble in the rough water and may turn in the rower's hand uncontrollably. A handle that is too big will fatigue the rower's forearms and also result in excessive wrist movement feathering the oar. All our sculling handles come fitted with our injection moulded thermoplastic grips. These second-generation grips have gained universal acceptance since their release and all include an anti-bacterial agent to stop the growth of bacteria and fungus.

From the initial work that we have done, there seems to be a strong correlation between hand size (measured from the base of the thumb and the tip of the fingers) and preferred grip size. We have collected enough data so that we are now able to develop this simple chart relating hand size to grip size. This should enable coaches to order the most suitable handles, particularly for school-age rowers. All sculling cars are fitted with carbon adjustable handles.

Grips are also available in a variety of sizes
Pink grip (small) 31mm outside diameter fits onto small handle.
Yellow grip (intermediate) 34mm outside diameter fits onto medium handle.
Blue grip (standard) 35 mm outside diameter fits onto medium handle.
Grey grip (large) 37mm outside diameter fits onto large handle.

From the initial work that we have done, there seems to be a strong correlation between hand size (measured from the inside base of the thumb to the tips of the fingers) and preferred grip size.