Rowing Shell For Lake

I never had to buy a shell, so I know nothing about prices/value, etc., but I rowed a little in college, and I think most of our boats came from Mike Vespoli's company, which is based in New Haven. You could probably find them online and start from there.

EDIT: http://www.vespoli.com

^same here. Congrats on the house.

wow, i had no idea that these shells were so pricey.
-Jeff

Lol, for reasons that probably make me seem racist, I always assumed Vespoli was an Italian company. Interesting to learn otherwise. Keep in mind that Vespolis are top-of-the-market, though. Shells that are practically identical for recreational usage can be found for about half the price. My old team alternated between Vespoli and Hudson boat works (Canadian company).

lol, I knew the shock of cost was going to come up. I've built a few 17' hulls myself, all out of carbon fiber/kevlar. Other than taking up alot of space and a nice pump, its not too hard. Personally, I've always had more fun building them than using them. (trying to drudge up some photos but no luck)

Some of the shells are fragile. This is a consideration if there are underwater protrusions (trees, rocks etc). Clinkers are much much cheaper and can handle rougher handling. They ofcourse do not go as fast.

Back in the late 70s early 80s, I used to row on the Thames. Mostly in eights. Early morning on the water is magical.

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ya the rocks and logs are scary, but thats typically while you will see kevlar added to the mix. I use to race hydrofoils (the ones with the extended wings on struts that sit under the water)... veeeerry scary thought to hit something and sheer a wing at 40mph.

Empacher!

Are you an accomplished sculler? If you haven't spent a lot of time in a single or it's been a long time since you've been on the water, you may not get maximum enjoyment from a tippy, hard-to-set racing shell.

Back when I coached at a learn-to-scull programme in Boston, most of our beginner and intermediate boats came from Peinert, who offer a range of boats from the wide and stable Zephyr to the X25 and 26 models, which are shaped like racing shells but built with more Kevlar than carbon fibre in the hull. I seriously recommend these boats--they row well, are practically bulletproof (you don't want to know about the number of novices I've seen run them into bridge abutments or over sandbars, but repairs were generally minor) and due to the lower CF composition they don't cost as much as a fine racing shell from Vespoli, Pocock or Hudson (not to mention what you'd pay to import a shell from a Euro maker like Empacher or Filippi).

If you do have a lot of experience or have your heart set on a "real" racing shell, then I'd suggest looking at used boats--the classifieds on Row2k often have a wide variety of shells for sale, many of which might be local to you in CT.

Congrats on the house purchase and on getting (back?) into rowing--it's a fantastic sport and has offered me both the most intense and most relaxing moments of my life, though usually not at the same time!

I am more interested in seeing pics of your lake house. I would kill for one.

Ah the Peinert 26! I was going to recommend it mostly because it's what I learned to row in up at Craftsbury in Vermont. First day at camp as a high school freshman and they told me to go pull one of them off the rack. They're narrow but not too narrow and if you're out when the water's nice and smooth then no worries.

If you can find a boat club, rowing camp, or even school you can buy some of their used shells...
peinert has a list of clubs and places across the country that all should have boats for sale. They also have ergometer rowing machines if you really want to get into rowing.

Congrats on the lakehouse, one of my life goals is to have a place on a lake where I can row.