Eight men from Eliot House rowed the Henley distance--d mile and 5-16--in seven minutes and 29 seconds in chilly Charles Basin at dusk yesterday to nose out the Winthrop crew by a deck length and cop the House crew championship.

Pulling upstream with the wind after a false start at 7:40 o'clock, Lowell House took the lead with a brisk 32, and was still ahead under the Harvard Bridge. Beyond the bridge, the five shells crowded together and the ensuing melee left Kirkland and Leverett with looked oars hopelessly in the rear.

Entering the last hundred yards, Lowell tired and caught crabs under the strain of the fast pace. Elephant cox "Bree" Taylor stepped up his early 28 into a sprinting 34 and edged ahead of the Winthrop eight which crossed the line at 7:29.5. Lowell was clocked in 7:35.

Kirkland and Leverett untangled in time to turn in 7:47 and 7:48 times respectively, and locker room speculation dwelt on the possibility of either House contesting the judge's decision not to step the race when the two shells became snarled.

Mrs. Roger B. Merriman, widow of Eliot's former House Master, witnessed the Elephant triumph from the Cambridge shore.

The boatings.

Eliot: Stroke, Scholle; 7, Fisk; 6, Wulsin; 5, Dutton; 4, Fish; 3, Parsons; 2, Coulter; bow, Weston; cox, Taylor. Winthrop: Stroke, D. McAllister; 7, Saltonstall; 6, Lewan; 5, Rackerman; 4, Whitney; 3, Hale; 2, Lehner; bow, Bowden; cox, Schless.

Lowell: Stroke, Prescott; 7, Roll; 6, Erskine; 5, Morse; 4, Winslow; 3, Potter; 2, Hellor; bow, Watson; cox, Allen. Kirkland: Stroke, Shoemaker; 7, Murphy; 6, Cadoret; 5, Bingham; 4, Callahan; 3, Palmer; 2, Brooks; bow, W. Lowe; cox, Harris. Leverett: Stroke, Hopewell; 7, McKearney; 6, Friedman; 5, Mayer; 4, Baker; 3, Clark; 2, Lacy; bow, Haynes; cox, Elliot.