Introducing the new 1st VIII…. The Dr Killick

In March this year the St Paul’s Boat Club took delivery of its newest Empacher VIII. Named after Dr Tom Killick, a past President of the club, the boat arrived just in time for the boys to test it out on training camp in Portugal.

This Empacher VIII is the latest in rowing boat technology with many components upgraded or redesigned from previous editions. The hull is made from a carbon/kevlar combination, making it both light and strong, whilst the riggers are made solely from carbon. This means that the riggers weigh roughly 500g less (per rigger!) than their aluminium predecessors.

The boat also has an integrated steering system with the steering post contained within the hull of the boat. The rudder is now also much smaller than on many of the other VIIIs in the boat club, meaning that the boat is disturbed less when the cox is steering.

Another interesting change to the boat is on the foot stretcher. The feet are set much further apart and the angle of the foot on the footplate can be easily adjusted to enable a stronger drive position.

All of these improvements mean that this boat is one of the fastest on the market and will no doubt help shave seconds off the boys’ times in competition. The boat has already been raced at National Schools Regatta where the boys won Championship VIIIs in an impressive manner, beating the rest of the field by over 15 seconds. The Dr Killick will also be raced at Henley Royal Regatta, so keep an eye out on the water and you may see our newest boat in action!