Description
The new eRow Pro Am 25 and Pro Am ELITE are a new breed of advanced crossover rowing craft. Starting in 2015, these Carbon Fiber shells combine the world of an extremely fast open water shell with the world of a forgiving flat water shell with a bit more stability. Their racy lines and high-tech components allow you to advance your skills far beyond those achieved in traditional open water designs, and can generate speeds found in competitive sculls without having to sacrifice ruggedness and stability. For the serious competitive athlete, at 25 feet long, the Pro Am and Elite are built to be the fastest open water shell made. With a generous rocker fore to aft, she is responsive in rough waters. We’ve added a flared hull port to starboard, which gives some reserve stability.
Also new in the eRow Pro Am and Elite are a full length and height Carbon reinforces truss backbone, and double cross ribs. these features add enormous stiffness and longevity to your shell.
boat-proam1_popoutlOne significant open water feature is the splash guard. This is a much dryer boat than flat deck crossover shells. It wraps around the cockpit bow and sides to keep waves out. Keeping water out of the boat is sensible, and all racing shells feature splash guards.
The rear of the splash guard is left open, sort of like a 3 sided box. This way, if a really big wave makes it in, it won’t stay in, it flows out the back with a good pull on the oars. It will flush most of that out by virtue of the slanted back wall of the feet area. There is also an optional thru-hull bailer.
Another great feature is our Quick Release Wing Rigger. With a twist of 3 hand-turned knobs the wing is off and out of the way, making the Pro Am 25 and ELITE 10 Ibs. lighter, the lightest and easiest boat to carry. This ultra stiff wing transfers the rowing loads more direct than other bent wings and is constructed of reliable welded aluminum. It is anodized finished, which won’t chip like powder coating.
boat-proamConstruction toughness is second to none in these boats. First, the hull and deck are fully laminated with carbon fiber for extra stiffness. This is standard, not an extra cost. In addition to that, the deck is cored. We do not use Syntactic foam, which is nothing more than resin with air mixed in it. Syntactic is brittle and prone to water saturation over time. Second, the keel is molded composites, for a perfect fit and strength where needed, not cut out of foam sheets. Third, we add 2 molded ribs from port to starboard for extra toughness in the cockpit. We feel this feature adds incredible durability in rough seas or in the event of a deep water re-entry.
Adjustability: We start with using the longest feet tracks and the longest seat tracks on the market. In addition, our seat tracks are adjustable fore and aft. Our acclaimed “Universal Pitch” oarlock bracket is standard. It allows more adjustment to the angle of the oarlock, and thus the oar, than other limited systems. And the “Universal Pitch” means no sacrifice in setting up the boat your way, precisely. Height off the water is extremely adjustable, through a 3 inch range. Height is probably the most critical adjustment in advanced open water competition, allowing the athlete to match oar height to wave conditions of that race. Spread, or distance between oarlocks, is also adjustable through a 3 inch range.
Comfort: Our seat racks are set 30% further apart to eliminate them from digging into the rower’s calves. Seats come standard with a seat pad. The foot stretchers are standard composite that easily accepts adding rowing shoes if that is your preference. It comes standard with a soft, wide velcro foot strap, and there are optional padded wet suit foot straps available.
Other features include an access porthole with storage bag, breather plugs at each end, and a fin for better tracking. There are several standard colors and optional graphics for personalizing your scull.
To meet the individual demands of oarsmen in this skill level, there are two size-specific Pro Ams from which to choose. The Pro Am ELITE caters to the light and medium weight rowers, up to 200 Ibs. The ELITE has less freeboard (amount of boat above the waterline) than the Pro Am 25, which puts the rower’s center of effort (or balance point) closer to the water. This results in a more stable craft, allowing the lighter rower to row hard. The Pro Am 25 is designed primarily for those over 215 Ibs. (though it can be rowed by lighter people as well). This is the only cross over design made for “Iron Johns,” big athletes who take no prisoners.
