To the C2 rowers,
@watchnerd comes to mind. With regards to damper setting. When I got my C2 a few years back - I never got into the weeds of drag factor, spm, damper, technique...it just quickly felt best to pull @8,5 exactly between 8 and 9. Additionally, it just felt best to pull at a spm @30 (when going for a fast time I get around 35).
Last year on some suggestion on IG I went down with the damper to 7 and pulled just with that. The last 3 rows I am back to my default setting 8, and today at 8,5. The difference in lower hr dynamics is very obvious and I feel that I can accelerate each stroke just better. I am 1,78m /5,8ft.
My question: at exactly the same stroke rate, does a higher damper yields more meter per stroke? My gut feeling is: yes, it does.
This gets a bit tricky, as it depends on what you're trying to emulate.
For people who also row on the water using racing hulls (like me), damper settings of 7+ are way too high to simulate the drag feel of a sleek and narrow racing hull. You'll have to pull harder, and your strokes/minute will be too low compared to what you should be doing in a 2k race (35-40+ strokes/minute in a hull).
The usual metaphor is that higher damper settings simulate an old-fashioned high drag rowboat, which isn't what you want if you're a water racer in scull or sweep hull.
Okay, but what about people who don't get on the water?
There are competitive erg-only users and I think it's informative to look at way they do, as they have the freedom to pick whatever setting gives them the most advantage.
People who participate in the C2 World Rowing Indoor Championships (WRICH) tend to use damper settings in the 3-5 range.
Competitive Crossfitters, on the other hand, tend to use much higher drag factors. 7+ is not unusual among Crossfit Games athletes.
The difference is that each are playing to their strengths.
WRICH winners are usually taller (ex-crew team), have better rowing technique and rowing-specific energy adaptations, but aren't as strong as Crossfitters.
Crossfitters are usually shorter, have worse technique, but are stronger/more powerful than WRICH winners.
I'm only 5'11" / 180 cm (a little taller than
@Harald Motz 's 173 cm), which is a great height for my weightlifting sport, but is pretty short for a rower. That means I have to pull harder to match the total energy production at a given strokes/minute of the taller rowers who have longer strokes.
If I only cared about my erg scores, I'd crank the damper way up like a Crossfit athlete because my strengths (shorter, stronger/more powerful) are closer to theirs. But because I also train on the water, I don't do that, because it messes up my on the water technique.
I want the damper to feel as close to a racing hull water friction as possible.
Instead, what I do to make up for my shortness is use a more aggressive hatchet blade (Braca Sport Fusion).