• Bubbles under rowing boat

    From James HS@24:150/2 to rec.sport.rowing on Mon Sep 28 23:28:07 2020
    Everyone says this is the nirvana.

    what is happening when you get 'bubbles' under your boat and does it indicate the amazing oarsmanship that most people think?

    Thanks

    James
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  • From carl@24:150/2 to rec.sport.rowing on Tue Sep 29 14:51:52 2020
    On 29/09/2020 07:28, James HS wrote:
    Everyone says this is the nirvana.

    what is happening when you get 'bubbles' under your boat and does it indicate the amazing oarsmanship that most people think?

    Thanks

    James


    It normally indicates that air is being entrained into the water flowing
    under & against the hull.

    1. For this to happen requires an air/water mixing process which must
    require significant local turbulence & therefore absorb some energy, but asking how much energy it requires is like asking the length of an
    arbitrary piece of string.

    2. If enough air enters the boundary layer, that should reduce the drag
    due the shear within the boundary layer (that narrow layer of water
    between the hull and the undisturbed main stream), but by how much is
    again unquantifiable.

    3. Any air/water mixing must generate local turbulence, which is likely
    to advance the normal transition from laminar to turbulent flow within
    the boundary layer. Since that transition brings increased drag per
    unit area of hull, initiating it sooner would be disadvantageous unless
    the gains from #2 exceed the losses from 1 & 3.

    But it is an invigorating sound, so maybe you'll go faster & finish a
    little more fatigued?

    Cheers -
    Carl

    --
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