Rowing on the Bay is an immensely challenging endeavor. However, it can provide unlimited opportunities for enjoyment and growth to those who are patient and diligent enough to become competent. There are no skill requirements, but make sure you are physically fit, can tread water comfortably for twenty minutes, are comfortable dealing with wind and waves.
Regardless of your previous experience in rowing, every member who wants to row must take the Basic Rowing Training Class. This class is an introduction to our fleet of boats, what it means to row on the San Francisco Bay, and a chance to meet other members who are interested in rowing. The class is offered once a month and only available to Dolphin Club members. Details about registration are shared on the internal club message board.
The next step would be to complete six training rows on your own inside the cove and practice the techniques you learned in the rowing training class. After taking the Basic Rowing training class you are only allowed to row on your own, in a single, inside of the cove. If you want to row outside of the cove, before you’ve completed your final certification, you can row in a double with another certified member.
Attend on boat nights that happen every Tuesday night from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM. Meet rowers and folks who like wooden boats. Volunteers gather in the Dolphin Club boathouse to hammer, sand, and varnish under the guidance of boatbuilders Julia Hechanova and Jon Bielinski. Anyone and everyone—member and non-member alike—are welcome to join in.
The certification test involves an on-the-water skills test and a take-home written test on tides and currents of the bay. Once certified, rowers are free to take our Dolphin Club singles and doubles onto the bay on their own schedule and within the limits of our safety rules. Training and certification for vikings, open water shells, and liteBoats are ad-hoc and are offered on a 1:1 basis.
We have around 40 rowboats housed at our Aquatic Park Boathouse. Almost all are sliding seat rowboats ranging in a number of styles.
Traditional. We maintain a fleet of pristine wooden rowboats. Find our Wooden Boat Catalog. Many of them were built right in our own boat shop. The boats are mostly named after notable Dolphins with strong ties to the rowing program. Our vessels were modified and improved to handle the specific conditions of the San Francisco Bay. Now referred to as Dolphin Club singles and doubles, these boats are unique to our boathouse. There are no other boats in the world that feature our specific combination of forms and characteristics.
Viking. Some unique wooden vessels in our fleet are our Viking-class boats. These boats are also based on a whitehall design, but have much less beam, are longer, have outriggers and are therefore a bit more nimble than their whitehall inspiration. The first Viking boat (a double named VIKING) was built in 1915 by a pair of cable car repairmen who used the boat to row on the Russian River. The boat ended up in the Dolphin Club’s hands and eventually we commissioned a local boat builder named Jeremy Fisher-Smith to refurbish and copy the original.
Contemporary. In addition to our wooden boats we have 14 fiberglass boats including open water racing singles and doubles from Maas boat builders and 4 coastal rowing boats made by LiteBoat boat builders.
Somewhere In Between. Along the way we’ve also acquired rowboats that don’t quite fit into one of the above categories, but are still fun and safe to row on the bay.
| Name | Build Year | Type | Weight lbs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Wieland | 1887 | Six-Oared Barge | 588 |
| Viking | 1916 | Cable Car Gig | 270 |
| Farrell | 1917 | Dolphin Club Double | 350 |
| Cronin | 1938 | Dolphin Club Double | 376 |
| Hughes | 1938 | Dolphin Club Double | 380 |
| Baggiani | 1948 | Dolphin Club Single | 207 |
| Foster | 1948 | Dolphin Club Single | 198 |
| Landucci | 1948 | Dolphin Club Single | 209 |
| Herman Zahler | 1960 | Herreschoff Double-Paddle Canoe | 78 |
| Spectre | 1973 | Single Whitehall | 261 |
| Good Luck | 1976 | Stillwater River Boat | 187 |
| Lifthrasir | 1985 | Cable Car Gig | 270 |
| Austin | 1987 | Single Modified Whitehall | 205 |
| Cecco | 1988 | Dolphin Club Single | 219 |
| Joe Bruno | 1989 | Dolphin Club Single | 212 |
| Ring | 2000 | Dory, Flat-Bottomed | 193 |
| Haake | 2006 | Dolphin Club Single | 218 |
| Kupuna | 2006 | Dolphin Club Single | 167 |
| Kohlenberg | 2006 | Single Cable Car Gig | 189 |
| Commodore | 2016 | Dolphin Club Single | 170 |
| Semper Fi | 2016 | Dolphin Club Single | 165 |
| Name | Builder | Model | Class | Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Nino | LiteBoat | LiteRace 1x | Coastal 1x | Carbon Fiber |
| La Nina | LiteBoat | LiteRace 1x | Coastal 1x | Carbon Fiber |
| Tempest | LiteBoat | LiteSport 2x | Coastal 2x | Carbon Fiber |
| Storm | LiteBoat | LiteQuattro | Coastal Gig Boat | Carbon Fiber |
| Coot | Maas Boat Company | Maas 24 | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Flicka | Maas Boat Company | Maas 24 | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Gull | Maas Boat Company | Maas 24 | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Surf Scooter | Maas Boat Company | Maas 24 | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Pelican | Maas Boat Company | Maas Carbon 24 | Open Water Shell | Carbon Fiber |
| Murre | Maas Boat Company | Maas Flyweight | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Tern | Maas Boat Company | Maas Aero | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Banana | Maas Boat Company | Maas Aero | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |
| Osprey | Maas Boat Company | Maas Double | Open Water Shell | Carbon Fiber |
| Troneum | Maas Boat Company | Maas Dragonfly | Open Water Shell | Fiberglass |