How do I ...?
You may have wondered what is the best way to store our Echos. Or perhaps why some locks seem to be harder to open than others. Or whether there is something you may have forgotten since you were last Checked Out.
Well, you've come to the right place to answer those nagging but important questions. And please contact the Rowing Director if you wish to have other relevant information posted here.
Table of Contents
- Stow an Echo and Examples of Damage from Improperly-Stowed Echos
- Using the locks on the Echos
- Reporting a Maintenance Issue
Stow an Echo?
You may be surprised to learn that a significant amount of the damage received by our Echos is due to incorrect stowage. The following is a checklist to follow when returning an Echo to its rack:
- Rinse Everything thoroughly, including seat rails, bailer, oarlocks, riggers, and under the gunwales.
- Empty Drain the craft after you have rinsed it: the craft must be completely empty of water.
- Bow Plug Leave open. Echos are sealed craft, so they need an air-escape when not being used.
- Bailer Leave closed to reduce weathering of the gasket.
- Lock Hasp must pass through rigger U-bolt. Makes it more inconvenient to steal and prevents dirt from entering the lock.
- Riggers Loosely strapped down, seat tucked under and oarlocks closed.
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- seat is tucked under the riggers;
- straps are loose, so as not to stress the riggers over the seat;
- oarlocks are closed, to avoid damaging the footwell;
- oarlocks do not touch the footwell.
- seat is tucked under the riggers;
Use the Locks on the Echos?
We have two types of locks on the Echos, each differing in the location of the combination and the way for opening.
Type 1 requires the combination to be lined up with the center-line. In the picture to the right, "0-0-0-0" is at the center-line. So, set the combination in that line.
- Once the combination is set, you must first push-up against the hasp and then pull down, to disengage it from the body of the lock. Otherwise, it won't open, and you will wonder whether you have the wrong combination, the lock is broken or it is just a bad day.
- Type 2 requires the combination to be lined up with an off-center-line. In the picture to the left, "0-0-0-0" is just off-center, and has dark etchings on either side. Set the combination in that line.
- Once the combination is set, just pull down on the lock body - no need for any extra gymnastics!
Please ensure locks are not left in the dirt. One way is to loop the lock, in its cable, over an upper stay or place it gently on the concrete pad (ensuring that the pad is cleared of dirt beforehand). This will greatly extend their lifespan.
Examples of Damage from Improperly-Stowed Echo Riggers
Ever wonder what happens if you do something naughty, like forget to put the seat under the riggers when stowing an Echo? Check out these photos.
Oarlocks left touching the footwell. Ouch!- Fixing a hole in the footwell is expensive and time-consuming.
- Seat not tucked under the riggers. Damage occurs as seat slides back-and-forth while Echo is being moved, hitting the crossed rigger ends. Double-ouch!
- Replacing a seat is over $200 US, not including shipping. So please be careful.
So you've either broken something or seen something that needs fixing. What to do? Good karmic practice tells you to report the problem: ignoring it means sleepless, guilt-ridden nights. There are three ways of doing this via the website, and both result in the Fleet Director being informed of the problem.
The first way is to access the full Craft Signout Website from the Rowing Craft Status drop-down on the Rowing Fleet tab, and then click on the "Report a Problem" button.
You will be greeted with a form that is fairly self-explanatory. Select the craft and be as descriptive as possible when reporting the problem. Use your best judgement in deciding whether the craft is usable or whether it needs to be taken out-of-service altogether.
- Don't worry if you get it wrong, as the Fleet Captains and/or Director will make the final determination.
- If you're unsure, err on the side of caution.
- If you think the craft should not be used, set it to "Unavailable" and then tie a piece of pink tape (found in the Rowing/Kayaking shed) so that it can be seen clearly: this alerts members to not unrack the craft or use the damaged equipment.
- If the problem is something other than a boat (e.g., an oar, a lock, a PFD) select "Equipment" from the "Select Craft/Equipment" dropdown.
The second way is when signing-in. The handy-dandy red button labelled "Report a Problem" will lead you to the same problem-reporting form, so the procedure is the same as above.
When you submit a Maintenance report, an email with your description is sent to the Director: they may contact you later to discuss the remedy.
The third way is to email the Fleet Director at rowing@clublocarno.com. However, they will likely ask that you fill in the form yourself, as this is an opportunity to teach our members to use our online resources.
Please note: do not enter a problem description in the Comment box when signing in, as your comment will not be sent to the Director, nor anyone else, for that matter. The Comment is merely that, a comment, whereas Maintenance Reports not only serve as notifications, they persist as Fleet database entries, that are later used for diagnostics, updates, and other reporting.