New to Rowing?

Learn to Row/Scull with Rochester Boat Club
We Row on the calm Erie Canal in Fairport

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Welcome to Rochester Boat Club (RBC)!

We are located in Fairport, NY. We are a not-for-profit group of enthusiastic adult rowers and scullers, rowing out of our Village of Fairport Boathouse, located on the Erie Canal at 10 W Liftbridge Lane. This location, on the southeast side of town in the Village of Fairport (Town of Perinton), NY, makes rowing accessible to City of Rochester residents and to those of neighboring towns such as Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Macedon, Palmyra, Penfield, Pittsford, Webster and Victor.

No Membership Required

Class and rental fees support your rowing.

No Annual Commitment

RBC supports your rowing activities/classes through class fees only. There is no annual commitment.

Whether your goals include getting in great shape or preparing to race one day, join us! Rochester Boat Club trains all year long. Check out our Programs/Classes page for more details and to register for the current session. RBC offers both “sweep rowing” and “sculling.” With sweep rowing, four or eight rowers, each with one oar, work as a team in perfect unison. With sculling, rowers each use two oars, and typically row in single-person boats called “sculls” or in two- or four-person “doubles” or “quads.”

Discover Rowing

Our outdoor season runs spring, summer and fall, finishing in early November each year. We then move indoors to the Pittsford Indoor Rowing Center, a unique facility that we are fortunate is only a few miles from our boathouse. Indoor training employs the use of ergometers (rowing machines) for cardio and rowing simulation tanks for technique. The reward for indoor training is rowing on the beautiful Erie Canal in May. Rowing is a total-body workout like no other. Give us a try and see what all the fuss is about – rowing is a blast!

Discover Rowing

Rowing is a physically demanding and challenging sport to learn.  In order to row, participants must:

  • Be able to carry/support sustained loads of at least 25 lbs overhead and on shoulders
  • Have a reasonable aerobic fitness level that will allow for continuous rowing
  • Have a reasonable amount of flexibility (i.e., be able to touch your toes)

Rowing is not advised for:

  • people with significant knee, back, wrist or shoulder issues
  • women who are pregnant, except those with prior rowing experience and physician approval
  • people that are very unfit and looking for a sport to start working out

During the first two weeks of the session the coaches will assess your physical ability to participate safely in these classes. The rowing shells and equipment are designed such that they are able to accommodate persons within a specified range of height, weight, and body size. In general, the body weight limit is 250 pounds for some of the larger shells. For your own safety, RBC reserves the right to decline your participation in these classes (in which case you will receive a full refund).

More info…

For details regarding Learn-to-Row or Learn-to-Scull classes, see our Programs/Classes page.