Rowing stalwart Fred Strachan will focus on ''coaching and nothing else'' after changes to Otago Boys' rowing protocols.
The Otago Boys' High School Rowing Club carried out a ''very detailed examination'' of its operations after Mr Strachan (91) lost control of a powerboat which then collided with a rowing eight skiff in Otago Harbour earlier this month, putting three pupils in hospital.
Otago Boys' High School rector Clive Rennie said the club had made some ''important'' changes, including assessing Mr Strachan's role at the club.
''He's still coaching, but there's some very set rules around driving. We are making sure that what he is doing is coaching and nothing else,'' Mr Rennie said.
The club also fitted propeller guards to its two main coach boats and changed its policy so two people were in the boats at all times and drivers were to use kill switches.
''What our club has said is, that definitely needs to happen.''
While Maritime New Zealand had made similar recommendations in the past, they were not law.
''They [Maritime NZ] have had strong recommendations about the kill switches and numbers on boats, but they aren't rules,'' Mr Rennie said.
''What our organisation is saying is, they are rules for us.''
The boat Mr Strachan was driving was fitted with a kill switch but why it was not used or did not work had yet to be established as the school's report into incident was not yet finished, Mr Rennie said.
The club's pupils, who had returned to the water last weekend, continued to support Mr Strachan.
Mr Rennie said he was interested in the outcome and findings of Maritime NZ's investigation into the incident.
''The important thing for us is that the major investigation is done as quickly as possible, so if there are any other things we need to address we [can],'' he said.
A Maritime NZ spokesman said the investigation would take several weeks to complete.
