Customer Reviews

Essential Sculling: An Introduction to Basic Strokes, Equipment, Boat Handling, Technique, and Power

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3 star:		(3)
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As a recent convert to the sport of sculling I have read most everything published to the point of obsession. This book does however stand head and shoulders above most. It is for the more cerebral sculler, dealing not just with technique, boats, races etc but the mental rigour and benefits that is undoubtably the attraction to most of us "Norman no mates" who prefer the intensity of a single scull. It has been read and read and read again and still has something fresh to offer. I want Daniel J Boynes job!! r. gourlay email:robert.ellis.survey@lineone.net

I started sculling this summer and bought "Essential Sculling" to get some tips. I found it so full of useful information that I refer to it almost every time I go out on the river, and always find something new to help me improve.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sculling (or rowing of any sort, for that matter) and I expect my copy to be well-worn and dog-earred long before I run out of helpful hints to pull from the pages.

I started sculling this summer and bought "Essential Sculling" to get some tips. I found it so full of useful information that I refer to it almost every time I go out on the river, and always find something new to help me improve.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sculling (or rowing of any sort, for that matter) and I expect my copy to be well-worn and dog-earred long before I run out of helpful hints to pull from the pages.

I have been searching for a new book about sculling for the past two years. Finally, Boyne has delivered a non-esoteric readable book which is easy to understand and a joy to read. I went out on the water today and was immediately able to test out some of his advice. While I don't expect to win the Head of the Charles next year, I am looking forward to a much smoother stroke.

I have read & sold other books, but not this one, because it bears reading several times, like having a coach. It reads well in a font size that I (at age 47) found easy to read. Boyne does a good job addressing equipment, rigging, rowing technique, boathandling skills, training and troubleshooting tips.

I refer to this book between sessions on the water. The book does not substitute for time in the sliding seat--in the beginning, I committed errors that threw me into the water or that made release & catch of the oar blades messy. The book, and time spent with an accomplished fellow rower, helped clean up these errors.

Daniel J. Boyne's "Essential Sculling" is required reading for any rower -- beginner or advanced -- who is serious about sculling well and building upon success. This book offers a much needed, user-friendly and detailed program for cumulative excellence in the sport, as well as important information on rigging, equipment and cross-training. Boyne's presentation is engaging and informative, and his incorporate side-bars address many of the sport's cognate issues.

This is simply a book no sculler should be without.

Christopher D.H. Row, Ph.D. -- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Boyne writes clearly and succinctly on all aspects of sculling.

In a most illuminating way, he covers everything from the disciplines of form and motion (and mind) to the most technical matters regarding pitch, rigging and all manner of equipment. And yet this is not an intimidatingly thick tome. Nor does it feel like a manual. I see it as the Strunk & White of sculling--a pithy volume that answers all your questions and then some.

Boyne has a gift for explaining the nuts-n-bolts of rowing, but he is just as illuminating when addressing the more abstract and intangible aspects of the sport.

The drawings by Ellen Kennelly are also very helpful and well done.

I would reccommend this book to any level of sculler and any athlete.

I recently took up sculling and very much enjoyed this book. Honestly, I don't know if the book would be that beneficial to someone with years of experience, but from my point of view it was a great primer for training, and working on technique, etc.

I think for readers looking for some sort of Holy Grail...my guess there really isn't one. Just get out on the water and do it.

If you're only buying one book I'd recommend "The Sculler at Ease" by Frank Cunningham. Cunningham's book is more dated (with regard to equipment) and quirkier, but will teach you more about the sculling stroke.

Dan Boyne's writing about sculling reminds me very much of his coaching. On the water as in prose, Dan Boyne never drills you with a particular rowing style. He is one of thse few coaches which adapt themselves to the rower, instead of coercing a particular style. I don't mean to imply that anything goes. Fundamentals such as correct body posture are well stressed, on the water and in the book. But for more experienced scullers, his approach to coaching is more holistic and synthetic instead of a deconstructive and analytic. Synthesizing the techniques outlined in the book, the sculler is motivated to the next level of performance. This book is great for beginners and experienced scullers alike, and especially for scullers intent on progressing in a sport which requires much practice, dedication, and expert coaching.