The drive in the boat: leg drive with straight arms, arm pull from 75 to 85 degrees, legs finish near 100 degrees. How to link legs, trunk and arms without a power dip.
The honest answer up front: the drive begins with the legs: you open knee and hip angles at the same time, the arms stay loosely extended, and only when the hands reach roughly the knees does the arm pull join in. That is how the technical model of the German Rowing Federation (DRV) describes it: the propulsion of the boat comes exclusively from the leg drive at the start, the body effort begins over the toes, and the arms are extended in natural position [1]. In plain words: first push, then swing, then pull.
How exactly? The DRV model gives specific angles: the arm effort starts at 75 to 85 degrees to the boat's long axis, and leg extension ends around 100 degrees [1]. Leg drive and arm pull overlap to avoid power dips in the middle of the drive. If the arm pull starts too early, the bent arms do holding work that does not contribute to propulsion [1]. Reinhart Grahn points out that there are other successful technique pictures, for example the "Italian technique" in which initially only the legs work, and that top boats sometimes deviate from the model [2]. The model is a guide, not a law.
Rowing Canada describes the same principle: the drive runs in the order legs, upper body, arms, the recovery in reverse [3]. A distinction: this guide describes rowing in the boat. On the ergometer the picture is similar but not identical. In twelve competitive male rowers on the ergometer, drive time depended mainly on intensity, not on stroke rate [4]; whether that is the same in the boat is not shown by this study.
How hard is it? You understand the principle in one session. Keeping the sequence stable under pressure takes months, in experience terms.
From the catch position you hang from the handle [5] and push with the legs. The body stays in the forward lean, the arms stay loosely extended [1]. Milestone: 10 strokes in which the arms stay extended until the knees.
The leg drive begins over the toes. The upper body swings along and links leg drive and arm pull [1]. The trunk angles do not change abruptly.
When the hands reach the knees, the arms begin to bend. The DRV model gives an arm effort at 75 to 85 degrees [1]. Legs, back and arms now work together [2].
Leg extension ends around 100 degrees [1]. Legs and arm pull overlap so the force does not drop [1]. Anchor: it feels as if you push the boat away from under you, not as if you pull on the handle.
Body swing and arm pull end almost together in the back turnaround, without jerky movements [1]. Milestone: your coach sees on video that legs, back and arms flow into each other.
Film your drive from the side and freeze the picture when your hands pass the knees. Are the arms still extended? Then you are looking at the model. If the elbow already bends before the knees, that is your first lever. Check it in the boat, not just on the ergometer: there the sequence is similar but not identical.
With the leg drive: knee and hip angles open at the same time, the arms stay loosely extended [1].
The DRV model gives arm effort at 75 to 85 degrees [1]. In practice: when the hands reach the knees.
The model says yes, but there are other successful pictures too, such as "first only the legs push" [2]. Ask your coach what is taught at your club.
Not quite. The ergometer lacks the water, and ergometer studies only show how intensity and stroke rate act there [4].
The Finish in Rowing: Layback, Level Forearms, a Clean Extraction