sculling technique

Why the blade pathway from crossover to catch is so different between the left and right hands. If you aren't going straight, three things to check.

Timestamps

01:00 What generally causes difficulties?

Beginner errors are straightforward to work out if these are affecting you.

• squaring late
• balance issues
• missing water at the catch

03:30 Know if you are going straight

Look from your stern to the horizon and line up your stern with a fixed point (house, power pole, tree) and watch the wake off your stern. You can see if the vee of the wake is symmetrical.

04:30 Blade extraction - are the blades coming out at the same time and are you pressing down symmetrically? If one blade drags that affects the boat course.

05:30 Blade crossover - from extraction to handle crossover it's important the boat is level. The rig is left higher than the right - your handle heights have to reflect the difference in oarlock height. Ensure your hands are "nested" close together.

08:00 Blade catch - the handles have to be symmetrical around a similar arc from the oarlock so the tips of the blades are the same distance from the side of the boat.

The right hand has to move a greater distance from crossover to the catch than the left hand. It's probably 2 cm greater distance. Practice the fine motor skills to make subtle adjustments to the handles using pontoon floats on a single scull. Your arms have to go out to the same distance at the catch (not the same handle height). Listen to the sound of the oars going into the water - you can hear if one oar goes in before the other.

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Inspired by an extensive discussion on the Masters Rowing International Facebook group, this article summarises the issue and the advice shared by group members.

How to scull without scraping your knuckles

If you’ve been sculling for a while, you might have experienced the painful frustration of scraped or “bloody” knuckles. It’s quite common, but it’s not one you have to live with. By making a few key adjustments to your technique, you can keep your hands intact and enjoy smoother, more efficient rowing.

In this post, we’ll explore why scraped knuckles happen and how to prevent them. Whether you’re an intermediate master rower looking to refine your sculling or simply want to row pain-free, these tips give you some things to try.

Why do you scrape your knuckles?

The root cause of scraped knuckles lies in how your hands and the oar handles interact during the rowing stroke, both on the recovery and in the power phase. As you bring the handles toward your body, they overlap at the crossover point. This is the place where the fingernails of one hand can pull over the skin of your other hand.

When sculling, you can choose a couple of different techniques to reduce the likelihood of hazard at the overlap. My favoured technique is to scull with the left hand above and slightly in front of the right hand, so the knuckles of your right hand "nest" into the base of your palm of the left hand - the fleshy part at the bottom of your thumb. This "left-over-right" technique applies throughout the stroke but is most obvious when you handles go through cross-over.

This method is facilitated by the boat rig whereby the left oarlock is rigged 10mm (1 centimeter) higher than the right oarlock. It relies on you being able to scull with the left hand / arm always above the right hand / arm, throughout the stroke, from catch to finish.

In this still taken from a video, you can see the sculler's left hand is higher than his right hand at the catch. He continues the stroke with the left always higher than the right through to the finish. If I'm being picky, he sculls the power phase left in front of right and the recovery phase with hands stacked one above the other. But this is a minor point of refinement. His boat runs level and he has not got obvious scratches on his knuckles!

Alternative techniques include sculling with one hand directly above the other, sculling with a large vertical gap between your hands at the crossover.

Other contributing factors include:

• Incorrect hand positioning: Not staggering your hands properly during the stroke.
• Tight grip: Holding the oar handles too firmly can limit your ability to adjust their position naturally.
• Elbow movement: Poor elbow positioning can lead to awkward handle alignment.

How to prevent scraped knuckles

1. Master staggering your hands One of the simplest and most effective fixes is to stagger your hands during the stroke. Typically, the left hand should lead slightly ahead the right on the recovery and on the power phase. This stagger allows the handles to overlap smoothly without your knuckles colliding. Why it works: The stagger creates a natural separation between your hands, ensuring they don’t get in each other’s way. It also promotes a more fluid motion, improving the overall rhythm of your stroke.
2. Relax your grip Beginner rowers often grip the oar handles too tightly, often without realising it. Instead, aim for a relaxed grip where the handle rests lightly on the base of your fingers rather than being clutched tightly in your palm. Why it works: A relaxed grip reduces tension in your hands and arms, allowing for more natural handle movement and for the handle to "flex" up or down if you have an off stroke or hit a wave. This flexibility makes it easier to maintain proper hand alignment and avoid unnecessary scraping.
3. Adjust your elbow movement Pay attention to how your elbows move as you finish the stroke. Ideally, your elbows should flare out slightly to the sides, so your forearms are approximately 90 degrees to the oar shaft. This helps guide the handles into the correct position through the overlap. Why it works: Proper elbow movement ensures your hands stay on their intended paths, reducing the likelihood of handles clashing or scraping against your knuckles.

A Few Extra Tips

• Check Your Equipment: Make sure your oar handles and rigging are in good condition. Worn-out handles or poorly adjusted rigging can exacerbate the problem. If the boat isn't rigged left oarlock higher than the right oarlock, you are highly likely to have issues.
• Practice Slowly: When implementing these changes, practice at a slower stroke rate to give yourself time to focus on technique. Use pause drills to check your hand alignment at key points on the recovery. Also if you can touch one hand with the other at overlap it will give you a sensory clue as to whether you are getting it right.
• Get Feedback: Ask a coach or experienced rower to observe and video your stroke and provide feedback. Sometimes an external viewpoint can make a big difference.
• Wear Gloves: while your knuckles are healing, wear gloves to protect them. Because there's little flesh on your hands they take along time to heal and it's easy to knock the scab off, causing more bleeding. The Crew Stop sells specialist rowing gloves [affiliate link].

Final Thoughts

Scraped knuckles are an annoyance, but they’re also a badge of honour - mostly only scullers get them, not sweep rowers!

By focusing on hand staggering, grip relaxation, and elbow movement, you can row more comfortably and efficiently. As a mid-life master rower, these adjustments not only prevent knuckle scarring but also enhance your overall enjoyment of the sport.

Take the time to refine your technique, and your knuckles will thank you!

Further resources

• ​Accelerate sculling ability for athletes with potential​ [12 minutes] podcast
• ​Masters Rowing Camps 2025​ - bucket list?
• ​The Path to Speed is Not Linear​ - [12 minutes] video reflections on 2024 Older Athlete and Aging conference speeches.
• Sculling Intensive Camp - self-guided learning over 5 days

Troubleshooting - body sequencing for rowing and sculling.

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Timestamps

03:00 This past week - Learn to row classes; Peer to Peer Coaching Clinics and new masters at Knowlton Rowing Club
08:00 Gardening and rowing - over use injuries.
12:00 Troubleshooting body sequencing. Video first so you know what you're doing
13:00 The recovery - know the sequence you want. Arms - body - slide.
Feeling unstable when putting the blades in the water.
Setting the body angle - twice or once?
Moving up the slide "like an accordion"
17:00 The power phase - the sequence is legs - back - arms.
Only use each body part once per stroke.
Drills to emphasise the sequence - Legs only rowing; legs and backs; legs back and arms. Then blend them together.
24:00 Legs only drill. Blades on the water reinforces the horizontal power - level handles.
Mark the blade shaft 40 cms up from where the blade joins the shaft. Use white tape and use this as a marker to ensure the blade isn't too deep.
29:00 Blade depth while stationary - check it.
The slope of the oars to the water matters and is affected by boat depth in the water.
40:00 Finish at the xiphoid process - demonstrates the oarlocks are set at the correct height.

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Rowers need to have strong fingers to control the oars. Our expert coaches, Marlene and Rebecca, explain

• exercises to improve finger and forearm strength
• how to build aerobic base while training for the CrashBs

Exercises for fingers and forearm strength

We got this question

Could you recommend some exercises to improve finger and forearm strength? My fingers and forearms often tire from trying to feather correctly without using my wrists,

4 rowing hand strength options

First it pays to check you have got the basics correct in your equipment and the technique you use to turn the oar (feathering and squaring).

1. Handle grip size - get the correct size for your hands. Most sculling oars come in 3 sizes - small, medium and large. The correct size is one where you wrap your fingers around the scull handle and your thumb can overlap with the tip of your finger - not quite to the first knuckle. This is just a guide. some people prefer larger or smaller handles. Sweep handles do not always offer size variations.
2. Initiate the turning movement with your fingers and wrists. Starting the rotation and getting the movement started is what takes the most strength. You don't need to turn the full 90 degrees as you square and feather using your fingers or your wrist. If you get the rotation to 45 degrees, the oar will continue to turn under gravity and drop onto the flat of the collar. Try to find the minimum amount of turning momentum you can give with your fingers / wrist and then relax your grip and let the oar finish rotating without assistance. For sweep, the inside hand does the turning and you can use the same technique to move the rotation to 45 degrees as above.
3. Make sure the back of your hand and wrist never falls beneath the level of the handle. Because you need downward pressure on the handle to help roll the oar. See picture below
4. Check your boat set-up. Are you able to achieve the correct static positions at the finish? These are legs straight, back leaning backwards 5 degrees, with blades buried under the water your thumbs should be on your lower ribs / bra strap area, your wrists flat, elbows at 90 degrees to the oar shaft. If you cannot achieve this position - seek advice on adjustments you can make to seat height, oarlock height and shoe height.

4 Exercises for finger and forearm strength in rowing

1. Curling the fingers and knuckles exercise. [Watch the video for this.] Your extensor muscles aren't strong. Flexor muscles are 4-6 times stronger. They are meant to grip and so get worked more than extensors. This helps strengthen the extensors.
2. Elastic band for strengthening the intrinsic muscles in your hand.
3. Wrist strength - take a small weight in your hand. It's important to stabilise your forearm. Hold your wrist over the end of a table and flex up and down and side to side.
4. String on a dowel rod - roll it up and down with a 2-3 lb weight on the end. Use both hands for this.

Timestamps to the video

19:00 If you have osteoarthritis - don't push yourself into inflammation and swelling with your rowing practice. Don't use your thumb to apply internal pressure on the oarlock either if you have osteoarthritis.
20:00 How tight should you hold the handles? As if you're holding a kitten, puppy or a small bird - Firmly enough so the animal doesn't struggle, not so tight that you crush it..
23:00 If your forearms wake you up at night feeling restless. You should stretch them.
Do the "Karate Chop" drill on the recovery and Open Palm Sculling drill.
26:00 Trigger finger syndrome can be developed from rowing. The anular ligaments get pulled and swelling happens in the tendons.

28:00 How to train for both speed and endurance simultaneously. If you are doing CRASH-Bs erg race in March and enter the 30 minute and the 500m sprint event.
Follow the Faster Masters Rowing training plan first and foremost - pick the 1k racing plan. If you have extra time include a 40 minute low intensity row or aerobic cross training session.
32:30 Keep the group together - over the holidays stay in touch with your crew mates and become accountability partners. Community matters in masters rowing.

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Additional Resources

• Blade depth in rowing - what's correct?
• How to feather correctly - sweep and sculling