Knowledge Base
What does the Empower Oarlock measure?
The oarlock measures both the angle of the oarlock and the force being applied to the face of the oarlock. These measurements are taken 50 times per second and are then used by the oarlock to calculate per-stroke parameters which are transmitted to the SpeedCoach wirelessly. These measurements are ones that have been proven to be most helpful in evaluating and improving rowing effectiveness:
| Measurements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Units | Range | Notes |
| Catch Angle | Angular Degrees | Angle of the oarlock when direction of motion reverses from recovery to drive direction. | |
| Effective Length | Angular Degrees | Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between the 100N for sculling/200N for sweep slip and wash thresholds. | |
| Finish Angle | Angular Degrees | Angle of the oarlock when direction of motion reverses from drive to recovery direction | |
| Force | Newtons | to 1/10 | The force applied to the oarlock face averaged over the full stroke. |
| Max/Peak Force | Newtons | to 1/10 | The maximum force applied to the oarlock face at any point in the stroke. |
| Peak Force Angle | Angular Degrees | The degrees of angle at which the peak force occurred in the stroke. | |
| Power | Watts | to 1/10 | The rate of work being output. Power can be increased by doing more work per stroke, or taking more strokes per minute. |
| Average Power | Watts | to 1/10 | Power per stroke averaged over the entire interval (if using a SpeedCoach). Resetting the clock will reset the average power. |
| Slip | Angular Degrees | Angle degrees traversed by the oarlock before the force exceeds 100N for sculling/200N for sweep - a threshold below which the work being done on the oar is doing relatively little to increase the speed of the boat. | |
| Wash | Angular Degrees | Angle degrees traversed by the oarlock after the force drops below 100N for sculling/200N for sweep – a threshold below which the work being done on the oar is doing relatively little to increase the speed of the boat. | |
| Work | Joules | to 1/10 | The force times the length of the stroke. Work measures the effectiveness of each stroke. |
| Average Work | Joules | to 1/10 | The average force times the length of the stroke. Work measures the effectiveness of each stroke. |
| Length | Angular Degrees | Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between catch and finish. | |
| Effective Length | Angular Degrees | Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between the 100N for sculling/200N for sweep slip and wash thresholds. | |
Please also vist our Blog post, It's In The Computer: A No-Nonsense Breakdown of Rowing Tech Jargon for additional information on this topic.