Last weekend I had two rowing sessions with Rob Bean on Boyd Lake in northern Colorado. I was rowing my Literace 1x, a costal rowing shell by Liteboat. The lake is full of water, so it’s possible to enjoy sandy beached before they turn into a sticky mud.
We tested a rowing rig on Rob’s stand up paddleboard. I am going to write a review of this rig after trying it on different paddleboards.
I had a chance to shoot some pictures of RowCruiser designed by Angus Rowboats in both rowing and sailing mode. Rob is training for the 2025 R2AK, Race to Alaska. As a part of his training he took this boat to Watertribe Everglades Challenge earlier this year.
I’ve been looking at two designs from Angus Rowboats for a longer while. I wonder how the RowCruiser would perform in the Missouri River 340 race. It is a fairly heavy rowing boat at over 140 pounds, but you wouldn’t need to stop anywhere between the start and finish since you can sleep comfortably in its cabin.
Another boat I’m interested in is the much lighter Expedition Rowboat designed to be towed by a bike for long water and land trips. Jonathan Wiley entered his homebuilt boat in 2023 MR340 and reached Glasgow before the race was called off due to severe weather and flooding.
We also tested my hatchet oars on a paddleboard and RowCruiser when rowing on the Boyd Lake. They performed much better than Rob’s oars with Macon style blades.
