In a world where winners and losers are determined by hundredths of a second, the elite of rowing need the very best equipment available. Manufacturers can only differentiate through quality and innovation to stay relevant, as price is rarely an object when it comes to winning gold.

Rowing creates a strange market where teams and clubs rarely purchase for price value; rather, consumers value speed over everything. Therefore, manufacturers such as Hudson Boat works concentrate huge amounts of their resources into R&D and manufacturing. For example, Hudson’s web site claims that it the company “over 10,000 hours” on engineering the Ultimate Super Predator Hull.

The result, predictably, is nothing short of glorious. Much like a racecar driver salivates over new Lamborghini frames, or Tesla’s incredible torque output, rowers all over the world literally dream of racing in a Hudson USP Shell. (I would know, I deeply enjoyed such a dream the night before nationals.)

However, a custom USP Hull, with Carbon riggers and all the bits and bobbles rings in at $110,000.00. That’s right: a muscle-powered boat that will set you back more than a Porsche 911 S. This creates a unique disparity in the rowing world, as rich teams only get faster and teams with limited resources simply must hope that talent can overcome engineered speed. Frankly, having rowed at both levels, I find it endlessly frustrating that a shell can defeat the oft-overlooked purpose of rowing: finding the fastest athlete.

Source: https://www.hudsonboatworks.com/?p=Design_and_Construction