NELO ROWING NA: Interview with Nuno Mendes of NELO ROWING
Nuno Mendes: Portuguese ltwt rowing star and collaborator/representative with NELO Rowing
Preface: I first came across Nelo Rowing Shells in 2018 while surfing the internet for rowing videos to send my rowing team at Marist College. It’s rare, in the often highly traditionalist world of rowing, to find someone doing something totally new and my first glances at the shells told me clearly that this was something new and different. Coming from a background in competitive sailing as a youth and having spent a good amount of my adult life working around or near boat builders in both the sailing and rowing communities, I found myself immediately intrigued by and drawn to the key concepts embedded in the NELO design. The more I learned about NELO, the company, and the shells they were making, the more determined I became to bring this product state-side. NELO has been absolutely dominant in the racing canoe and kayak world with 27 medals won in Rio and many in the previous two Olympiads as well. Having built some early model shells for their local market in Portugal, Nelo began to commit resources in research and design to rowing. They also formed a collaboration with two of Portugal’s most recent rowing stars Pedro Fraga and Nuno Medes who took silver medals in the 2010 and 2012 European Championships as well as placing 5th at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the lwt 2x. With its radically unique hull shapes and splashy paint jobs Nelo has quickly generated a lot of discussion and many questions from athletes who are always looking for the best boat. Last week I caught up with Nuno for a quick interview to get his take on the NELO product and how it has been developed - Campbell Woods, Nelo Rowing North America.
1)Why did Nelo decide to get involved in the production of rowing shells and what do you think Nelo brings to the market that is new for rowers?
(Nuno)Nelo already has an old interest in producing rowing boats. In the past, Nelo built some rowing boats for a local market. In 2016, Nelo desired to produce high-quality rowing boats joined with the experience and technical knowledge of two portuguese top elite rowers, and together start the Nelorowing project. Therefore, the Nelorowing's project brings to the rowing market innovation in construction methods that allow different designs resulting in seamless and excellent finishes, a different hull shape; a boat with a flatter hull, with the main goal of keeping it sliding longer and higher, reducing the pitching movements in each stroke and short delivery times.
2) When Nelo sat down to design their first rowing shells, how much did you take into consideration previous designs and how much of the process was based on computer modelling or tank testing?
(Nuno) We adapted the concept of the innovative hull shape that we developed for kayaks for the rowing boat. Actually, we realized that this hull design would be even more advantageous for rowing than kayaking due to the characteristics of the technical rowing movement. This hull design was developed together with the Portuguese naval architect Paulo Viana.
3) The most noticeable characteristics of the Nelo Shells are an extremely narrow "reverse" bow and significant flattening of the hull shape in the mid bow and stern What is the purpose of these designs and how does affect the performance of the hull?
(Nuno) Our big discovery was that the new hull shape kept boat speed more constant by preserving the momentum of each paddle stroke for a longer time, in kayaking. With that discovery, the designers thought of sculling. Since the time between rowing strokes is longer than the time between kayak paddle strokes, we realized that our discovery was even more applicable to rowing than to kayaking. Rowing strokes are not as quick, so deceleration of the boat between strokes is more pronounced. The idea was to design shells that would keep their run after each stroke for longer than elite racing shells already on the market.
4) Being new to the market, there is obviously a learning process and adjustments and changes to improve your initial design. Name one thing that Nelo's team has had to change since they began building and how you came to that conclusion.
NELO “CINCO” BOW
“Our big discovery was that the new hull shape kept boat speed more constant by preserving the momentum of each paddle stroke for a longer time, in kayaking. With that discovery, the designers thought of sculling. Since the time between rowing strokes is longer than the time between kayak paddle strokes, we realized that our discovery was even more applicable to rowing than to kayaking…”
(Nuno) We had to change the position and shape of our boat fin. We had to move it further to the bow of the boat and increased the area of the fin, because the characteristics of the flatter hull that gave some instability in the direction, mainly in conditions of lateral wind or waves. With this change we improved the boat's performance and direction under any conditions.
5) Nelo uses only carbon fiber riggers in their designs. Why was this design decision made?
(Nuno) Because we have extensive experience in working with carbon and we want to provide high quality boats with excellent components. Carbon fiber riggers offer better stiffness and lighter weight than aluminum designs while remaining extremely durable.
6) What has been the best thing customers have said about Nelo's shells. Have there been any consistent questions or complaints?
(Nuno) That the boat is comfortable, easy to row and that they can have good performances in a short time even with the different sensations compared to more conventional boats.
7) As far as the total package, what do you think Nelo Shells offer in comparison to other leading shell manufacturers?
(Nuno) Beyond the exceptional design and performance of the boats themselves Nelo provides full sets of covers with every boat. A connection with BONT rowing shoes is ensuring that our shells come with comfortable and high performing footwear. We also offer greater customization with 3 standard paint designs in a variety of colors or fully customizable paint options through our professional design team. We have an excellent network of dealers world wide to handle client needs.
Nelo Rowing North America is excited to be bringing these innovative shell to the USA and we are looking forward to working with american athletes and clubs at all levels.
Campbell Woods, Nelo Rowing NA LLC, www.rownelo.com