Came across this Row2k column about puddles in sweep boats:
The oars must move the boat, not the water. You are looking for hard, flattened ellipses, those distinct, half-moon footholds in the water which hold their shapes, dark and deep, as they pass your stern. If they are staying in that shape, with a minimum of internal turbulence, you can be satisfied that the oars are going in cleanly and square, and finding firm footing. If their shape is changing too much, (e.g. if they are becoming too elongated, or if there is too much white water curl shooting out over their tops), then watch your blades to see whether they are too shallow, or else the blades could be moving before they are firmly locked in the water. If the curl at the leading edge of the puddle is going the other way (i.e. forward in the direction of the boat), it suggests that the oar may be going too deep, causing the water to slide over it.
As boat designed Car Douglas said:
The puddle contains all the work you did which did not move the boat.
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