About Us
The Story Behind the Frontrower™
I was born and raised in Ohio where I studied engineering at Youngstown University and worked for several engineering companies in the Midwest and Canada before settling in New England.
I invented the Frontrower™ as a better way to propel my canoe on solo canoe camping trips in the islands off the coast of Maine.
Paddling can be a good way to propel a canoe if there are two people paddling. Or for one person in protected waters sheltered from the wind. But canoes have a lot of windage (freeboard above the water line) and are not meant to be paddled in strong winds, especially solo. Wind tends to turn a canoe broadside to the wind, and if the wind is strong, it takes a lot of turning force to overcome this effect. A single hand-held paddle does not give you enough turning force to handle strong wind. And the wind between the islands can be strong and can come up quickly. On one occasion, I was stranded on a small uninhabited island for three days waiting for the wind to die down. After that experience I began thinking about a better way to propel my canoe.
Conventional rowing with a pair of oars extending several feet out from the sides of the boat will give you a lot more power and turning force than a single hand-held paddle working in closer to the sides. But the rear facing position of conventional rowing makes it impractical for solo navigation in unfamiliar waters.
Forward facing rowing systems known as "bow facing oars" have been around since the 1800's. They were a modification to the conventional "oarlock-on-gunwale" rowing system used on the heavy traditional rowboats of that period. They cut the standard oars in half at the oarlock, replaced the oarlock with a direction reversing mechanism, and stuck the cut off ends into the mechanism. With this arrangement they could face the bow and travel forward while pulling on the oar handles. This solved the problem of going backward in old fashioned rowboats.
But going backward was not my problem. I was already going forward. My problem was not having enough power and control for adverse conditions. And I was using a lightly built narrow-beamed canoe, not a heavy broad-beamed traditional rowboat. I needed a different kind of system.
The system I came up with in the beginning did not have any provision for leg power. It solved my immediate problem well enough—it gave me a lot more power and turning force than a hand-held paddle. But an early step in the development of this system (placing the oarlocks on a pedestal in the middle of the boat) was a radical departure from traditional rowing. And this radical departure allowed me to look at rowing differently, which allowed me to consider and include features that are not a part of traditional rowing, such as:
And as it turns out, these features are important to other people too. I think I can safely say it has become the system of choice for long distance voyaging, for high quality exercise, and for special interests such as birding and photography.
I consider myself a cross between an engineer and a craftsman. I enjoy working in my shop, hand-building rigs using what I consider the best materials available—cherry hardwood, anodized aluminum and stainless steel. I started out building something that I wanted for myself. Then some of my canoeing friends saw what I was doing and wanted me to build some for them. Then I put up a website. With a few helpers I have been building these rigs for people who appreciate something that is the best of its kind. So far I have built several hundreds of these rigs and shipped them to customers around the world.
Most ordinary canoes make excellent rowboats, and that's what most of my customers are using—frequently canoes they already own.
For those who want to build their own boat and want something really special, I have have designed some wooden rowing boats specifically for use with the FrontRower™. For a while I was offering these designs as custom built boats and as kits, but now (at least during covid-19) I am offering them only as plans.
I invented the Frontrower™ as a better way to propel my canoe on solo canoe camping trips in the islands off the coast of Maine.
Paddling can be a good way to propel a canoe if there are two people paddling. Or for one person in protected waters sheltered from the wind. But canoes have a lot of windage (freeboard above the water line) and are not meant to be paddled in strong winds, especially solo. Wind tends to turn a canoe broadside to the wind, and if the wind is strong, it takes a lot of turning force to overcome this effect. A single hand-held paddle does not give you enough turning force to handle strong wind. And the wind between the islands can be strong and can come up quickly. On one occasion, I was stranded on a small uninhabited island for three days waiting for the wind to die down. After that experience I began thinking about a better way to propel my canoe.
Conventional rowing with a pair of oars extending several feet out from the sides of the boat will give you a lot more power and turning force than a single hand-held paddle working in closer to the sides. But the rear facing position of conventional rowing makes it impractical for solo navigation in unfamiliar waters.
Forward facing rowing systems known as "bow facing oars" have been around since the 1800's. They were a modification to the conventional "oarlock-on-gunwale" rowing system used on the heavy traditional rowboats of that period. They cut the standard oars in half at the oarlock, replaced the oarlock with a direction reversing mechanism, and stuck the cut off ends into the mechanism. With this arrangement they could face the bow and travel forward while pulling on the oar handles. This solved the problem of going backward in old fashioned rowboats.
But going backward was not my problem. I was already going forward. My problem was not having enough power and control for adverse conditions. And I was using a lightly built narrow-beamed canoe, not a heavy broad-beamed traditional rowboat. I needed a different kind of system.
The system I came up with in the beginning did not have any provision for leg power. It solved my immediate problem well enough—it gave me a lot more power and turning force than a hand-held paddle. But an early step in the development of this system (placing the oarlocks on a pedestal in the middle of the boat) was a radical departure from traditional rowing. And this radical departure allowed me to look at rowing differently, which allowed me to consider and include features that are not a part of traditional rowing, such as:
- Oars that automatically lift and dip as power is applied or removed.
- Oars that automatically feather (rotating the oar blades flat).
- Handles that swivel (eliminating wrist rotation).
- Two independent moving pedals (rather than a sliding seat) for adding leg power to the stroke. This eliminated energy wasting weight shifting and momentum reversals of a sliding seat. This also allows hands-free operation of the oars because you can steer by taking longer strokes on one side.
- A comfortable padded seat with a swiveling backrest.
And as it turns out, these features are important to other people too. I think I can safely say it has become the system of choice for long distance voyaging, for high quality exercise, and for special interests such as birding and photography.
I consider myself a cross between an engineer and a craftsman. I enjoy working in my shop, hand-building rigs using what I consider the best materials available—cherry hardwood, anodized aluminum and stainless steel. I started out building something that I wanted for myself. Then some of my canoeing friends saw what I was doing and wanted me to build some for them. Then I put up a website. With a few helpers I have been building these rigs for people who appreciate something that is the best of its kind. So far I have built several hundreds of these rigs and shipped them to customers around the world.
Most ordinary canoes make excellent rowboats, and that's what most of my customers are using—frequently canoes they already own.
For those who want to build their own boat and want something really special, I have have designed some wooden rowing boats specifically for use with the FrontRower™. For a while I was offering these designs as custom built boats and as kits, but now (at least during covid-19) I am offering them only as plans.