Thread by @ThatShockratees

Starting the @WaterRower assembly. Picklist checked, all parts appear present. Assembly manual illustrations are clear.

https://twitter.com/thatshockratees/status/1119736289165815808

Tightening Allen screws for the rear support. That bungee is for the recoil force. The main resistance comes from a tank you fill with 💦

Seat sits right on the rails. Glides freely with no hassle.

Tightening bolts for tank/pulley assembly, which was a little tricky but not hard. Unless I show assembly, everything you see came preassembled.

For example, here you see the pulley/gauge/tank, which all came pre-assembled. All I did was bolt that section to the rails.

First hitch - you really need TWO Allen wrenches to tighten those tank bolts. Waterrower kit only gave one. Fortunately as long-time flatpacker and biker, I’m never without the right Allen wrench. But someone else might be. Had to get 🧰

Loosened top bolts to mount footboard. First real hitch - the handle rest bolts seemed too short, wouldn’t grab. You have to jam them down into the handle rests first, then finger tighten the whole thing. Then I put in the side bolts. Also #pareidolia - aw scairt @WaterRower!

Adding the footrests - a little tricky but done! (Those last two footboard-rails bolts are hard to reach, so I finger-tightened and will fully tighten after the dolly wheels are on and I can stand the rower up in stow position.

Oh look - there was a second Allen wrench after all! But it was packed with the dolly wheels, so by the time I got to this step, I’d already had to go find one for the other bolts.

(And wheels didn’t even need the 2nd Allen, so no idea why they decided to pack it in there.) But now wheels are on, and I’ve stood the @WaterRower up in stow mode to connect the bungee and belt.

Now I’m siphoning water into the tank with the included pump, and a half gallon pitcher I happen to have. (This is gonna take a while - lots of refills. )

Filled to 17 liter calibration level, tilted and stowed for now. Assembly done, and I need to get groceries and cat food before I do a test aerobic workout row. It fits the place I planned to stow it.

(yeah bwah you spotted correctly. that's a full set of Death Note, Harry Potter hardcovers, and first edition Infinite Jest behind the rower. With some other stuff.)
I need a nap and then I'm gonna row my first 30 min and report.

I didn’t make 30 min. About 27 min, had to take several quick breaks to tweak foot position. Avg 5.5 mph and total distance 2.1 miles. Before I go again, I’ll watch @WaterRower’s video and try to figure out my small-feet v long-thighs problem, which made stroke uncomfortable.

You adjust foot position by raising/lowering heel rests. When I lower them, my little feet don’t stay tight in the foot straps. But when I raise, my knees are too high and my stroke hits them. Gotta be a simple solution. Tried shoes, socks, barefoot, diff body arch & lean.

But for the most part, it was a great satisfying workout and just what I’m looking for. Aerobic challenge that increases cardiovascular fitness, to complement the HIIT workouts that are stripping fat off me, but are anaerobic.