Engine Room
This is the middle of the boat. The paddlers here must have the determination and endurance to continue to apply the pressure up front.

Terminators
These are the last 3 rows of the DB, these rows must have strong front end grips to keep the pressure on the fast water passing by. (Water towards the back of the boat is very fast from all of the paddlers in front of you. It is very easy to paddle back here so it is very important that you push yourself to apply the pressure at all times.

Front end grip
This is when you’re over the head hand pushes forward. This applies pressure to the water against the paddle.

4-keys to your stroke

1. The Catch: When your paddle enters the water. (exhale breathing begins)
2. Compression: when your legs, abs, back pull you in a sitting up position
causing the paddle to be pulled toward your hip. (exhale finishes)
3. Exit: This is when you exit the paddle out of the water. (inhale begins)
4. Recovery: When you turn the waist bringing your paddle forward to begina new stroke finishing with the catch of new water. (exhale ends)

Facts on Sleep:
While small children typically take naps in the afternoon, our culture generally frowns upon mid-day sleep, even those who get enough sleep. Many people experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the afternoon, about 8 hours after waking or what we can call the “after lunch” effect. Research shows that you can make yourself more alert and energised with a nap. Mid-day sleep, or a ‘power nap’, gives you better reaction time and more efficiency for the next dragon boat race. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of sleep and how a power nap can help you!

How Much Sleep Do You Need?
The body needs 7-8 hours of sleep per day; 6 hours or less triples your risk of a car accident. (Interestingly, too much sleep–more than 9 hours–can actually be harmful for your health; recent studies show that those who sleep more than 9 hours per day don’t live as long as their 8-hour-sleep counterparts!)

The Effects of Missed Sleep
Sleep is cumulative, so if you lose sleep one day, you feel it the next. If you miss adequate sleep several days in a row, you build up a ‘sleep deficit’, which impairs the following:

• Reaction time
• Judgment
• Vision
• Information processing
• Short-term memory
• Performance
• Motivation
• Vigilance
• Patience

Fatigued people also experience more moodiness, aggressive behaviors, burnout and more stress. This leads to under performing for a race.

The Benefit of a Power Nap:
Studies show that 20 minutes of sleep in the afternoon provides more rest than 20 minutes more sleep in the morning (though the last two hours of morning sleep have special benefits of their own). The body seems to be designed for this, as most people’s bodies naturally become more tired in the afternoon, about 8 hours after we wake up.

How Long Should I Sleep?
When you sleep you pass through different stages of sleep, known together as a sleep cycle. These stages include light sleep, deep sleep (which is believed to be the stage in which the body repairs itself), and rapid-eye movement sleep, or REM sleep (during which the mind is repaired).

Many experts advise to keep the nap between 15 and 30 minutes, as sleeping longer gets you into deeper stages of sleep, from which it’s more difficult to awaken. Also, longer naps can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, especially if your sleep deficit is relatively small. However, research has shown that a 1-hour nap has many more restorative effects than a 30-minute nap, including a much greater improvement in cognitive functioning. The key to taking a longer nap is to get a sense of how long your sleep cycles are, and try to awaken at the end of a sleep cycle. (It’s actually more the interruption of the sleep cycle that makes you groggy, rather than the deeper states of sleep.)

Power nap before your race
This is only a suggestion, but if you haven’t noticed when paddlers have a big time gap in between their race, you’ll see a bunch of them lying down taking quick power naps – you should too.

You’ll really feel the difference and if you do feel a bit sluggish after a power nap then you know you’ve overslept. Try to sleep less next time and you’ll feel more energised ready for the next dragon boat race!

Lastly to mention, on a special request Regatta 2000 has said they can use kevlar and carbon fibre to lighten the boat at an additional cost. Why spend more when the minimum weight is 250kg?

Here is a picture of their dragon boat below and they make them in both 12 man and 22 man boats. The 12 man boat weighs at 170kg and the 22 man boat weighs at 250kg which are all within the minimum standards of IDBF Specs.

Would love to have some paddlers or people who have used this boat to provide some comments below. For now I’ll leave it up to the community to decide what these boats are like!

Plastex Composite Dragon Boat

1. “One piece” dragonboat 100% kevlar/carbon
2. “One piece” dragonboat 50% kevlar/fiberglass

The “real” difference seems to be in the price of around 500 pounds – which in Australian dollars is around $1,100! That’s a huge difference for the extra 50% of kevlar and fibreglass. Woah!

All Pel Kajak Centrum Dragon Boats are handmade with decks carved from mahogany wood and completely lacquered 4 times over to provide the water proofing a boat needs. Normally the steers oars are constructed out of wood, but this company also offers carbon fibre saying that it is lighter and stronger. Sure that is true, which is the same as a carbon fibre paddle, though it’s starting to becoming the most expensive dragonboat I’ve ever heard – and simply may be too light for my liking.

I wonder if this boat is worth the “low-price” they say it is at 5,750 pounds. Definitely will cost more than a BuK boat, which I still have to say in comparison sounds like a much better boat to paddle in.

The last thing I don’t like about the “look” of this boat is it’s dragon head – it just looks way over the top and not something I would be happy to sit behind whilst paddling..

Oh one last thing – they offer different colours: red, blue, yellow, black and white.

Their main advantage is “toughness”, where there are no screws or fixing points at the seats or on the hull. One problem I see is if any parts get damaged, e.g. seats or the hull or the side of the boat, then basically it means that one will have to send it back to the manufacturer for repairs. It would be easier to ask the manufacturer to send parts rather than shipping a whole boat back! Gemini also says that it’s lower maintenance, because there are no “wooden” parts involved, yes and no. One, if wood is protected properly it will last for years and it’s easier and cheaper to replace. Two, wooden seats will be more comfortable to sit on compared to plastic moulded material as there is potentially more chances that plastic will expand under heat.

Well, I’ll let you all decide whether or not this is a good Dragon Boat to use!

Currently they have two models available, the Model 12 (fits 12 paddlers in a boat) and the Model 22 (fits 22 paddlers in a boat).

Champion Model 12 Dragon Boat

As this boat is slightly smaller than the standard 22 paddler boat, it weighs a little less at 180kg. Generally this weight is acceptable at International level competition and at the end of the day the boat contributes to a small part to achieving a great result.

Model 12

Champion Model 22 Dragon Boat

This boat weighs in at 270kg and is certified by IDBF of spec 1222. Nowadays we are seeing clubs purchasing Champion dragonboats as well and they are becoming widely used in competition and at events. Not only are they great boats to race in they are also slightly cheaper than the BUK Boats. Reason I see is because the labour and parts are cheaper to manufacturer in China which is why these boats are able to be sold at a lower price point. Overall though, these boats still have the quality and precision compared to other dragon boats offered in the market.

Model 22

BUK has designed a Dragon Boat with great functionality and shows a high-level of workmanship. This can be seen when you hop into a boat and paddle with a crew, especially at International level where these boats perform extremely well!

What I have found within these boats is it provides lots of leg room and comfortable seating making the whole Dragon Boat paddling experience quite good. (Believe me, I have been on several boats and tried lots of different boats during my time in recreational and competitive dragon boating.) In the end I still prefer to sit in a BUK Dragon Boat.

Surprisingly the BUK weighs in at 250kg each and you may think wow, that is really heavy. But compare that to other dragon boats which can weigh up to 400kg, it’s actually lighter than most. What makes this boat also special is the way it is constructed giving it the rigidity and optimal durability in any condition. The BUK Dragon Boats are constructed with two shells (an inner and outer shell) like a sandwich. This way if anything gets damaged from the outer shell then it will not affect the inner shell and water should not get in.

Another great thing about the BUK Dragon Boats are the quick release hooks for putting on Drums, the tail, head and seats for the boats. This allows for the accessories to be dismantled and transported easily without getting damaged. Last thing I thought that was great, was the integrated carrying handles inside the boat allowing for 10 people to carry the boat on each side. No more getting splinters from wooden boats!

Over the years, BUK have worked with Great White North and other dragonboat associations to design and manufacture this excellent Dragon Boat that has led it to the product it is today. Overall if I were to buy one for the club I would give it all my thumbs up!

Specifications of BUK:

For every Dragon Boat manufactured, the supplier must follow a certain guideline in order for it to qualify as an IDBF Standard Dragon Boat.

IDBF has a very detailed manual with all the technical aspects documented and today’s topic isn’t about all the nitty gritty stuff of a dragonboat. If you are interested in reading more, here is the manual: http://www.idbf.org/documents/Spec_Boat_Tech_Manual-A.pdf

Basically, the reason behind having a standard Dragon Boat specification drawn and followed is that Dragon Boat as a sport has become very competitive over the last two decades. This has led to the formation of a system and record keeping of events and times. Furthermore as technology has advanced and more people are pushing the limits of Dragonboating, the requirements to build dragon boats using other than the traditional materials has changed. Requirements such as the hull shape and other features has been modified to improve the performance of the dragon boat in competition. Nowadays instead of building a Dragon Boat out of timber (which a lot of countries still do), new emerging suppliers are using fibreglass composites with timber, or aluminum composites with carbon fibre. As you can see, introducing new materials and technology makes the boat lighter, streamline and therefore faster in competition achieving better results. This is not an unusual trait in modern sport.

However, a major part of the attraction and consequent success of dragon boating is due to its Chinese traditions, which include design features on the Dragon Boats, such as, the Head, Tail, Scales and Drum. If these traditional features were to be discarded in the pursuit of performance, then the sport of Dragon Boat Racing would lose a significant part of its traditions and appeal its unique identity.

Therefore IDBF formed common designs for both Championship Races and general development, and this was seen to be the best way to control the ‘technical evolution process’ and to ensure fair competition in Sport Racing. To achieve these common designs, especially in new and emerging ‘dragon boat countries’ it has become necessary to publish IDBF standards.

The IDBF Dragon Boat Models:

IDBF has developed two models of the International Racing Dragon Boat (IRDB). The first is the standard model 1222, which is designed for a crew of maximum 22 people. Just over 12 metres in length, the 1222 is the preferred model for use in Championship Regattas and in Sport and Festival Racing and general development amongst IDBF Members.

IRDB Model 1222 (Holds 22 paddlers)

The second is the smaller model 912, designed for crews of 12 or less. At 9 metres in length, the 912 is ideal for training purposes, junior racing, recreational dragon boating and general development, as well as a good alternative boat for Festival Races. The Hull shape and design is the same in both IRDB models but the overall dimensions are less for the 912 model.

IRDB Model 912 (Holds 10 paddlers)

So as you can see above there are two models of Dragon Boats, which are manufactured by IDBF approved suppliers mentioned in my previous post.

What is a Dragon Boat?

Dragonboats

The definition from Wikipedia:
“A dragon boat or “dragonboat” is a very long and narrow human-powered boat now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China in pre-Christian times. While competition has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of folk ritual, it emerged in modern times as an international “sport” in Hong Kong in 1976. Like running, horse racing and marksmanship, the racing of dragon boats is among mankind’s oldest organized competitions.

For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes. In some areas of China, the boats are raced without dragon adornments.

The standard crew complement of a contemporary dragon boat is around 22, comprising 20 paddlers in pairs facing toward the bow of the boat, 1 drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers, and 1 steerer or tiller(helm) at the rear of the boat, although for races it is common to have just 18 paddlers. Dragon boats vary in length and crew size will vary accordingly, from small dragon boats with 10 paddlers, up to the massive traditional boats which have upwards of 50 paddlers, plus drummer and steerer.”

Where can a dragon boat be bought?
A lot of times you can go directly to your dragonboat associations and ask them if they have any boats they are looking to upgrade and would like to sell to your club. If so that is a good way to pick up a dragonboat for a fraction of the cost of a new one. Alternatively if your club has funding then I would suggest seeking the various manufacturers below to purchase a brand new dragon boat.

Additionally you will need to factor in the costs of shipping and the suppliers may not just ship one boat because it’s not economically viable for them and you due to high shipping costs involved. Another issue you will need to consider is where to store the boat when you receive it and that’s another topic to discuss about.

For now here are the IDBF approved manufacturers for supplying dragon boats:

as at 1 Jan 2008