The boat that Harvard heavyweight crew coach Harry Parker sent to the starting line Saturday was not nearly the same as the one he had raced against Brown and Rutgers a week earlier, but at the finish, the change made little difference.

Pulling away from highly-regarded Princeton after little more than a quarter of the 2000-meter race had been rowed, and winning the Compton Cup by three lengths, the Crimson heavies made it clear that no matter where they sit in the varsity shell, they will be extremely difficult to beat.

Brooks at Stroke

Parker. unsatisfied with Harvard's four length triumph over Brown last week, had switched six-man Steve Brooks to the stroke seat Friday afternoon, moved stroke Erich Almasy to three, and installed three-man Bill Hobbs at six.

But any harmful effects of the late rearrangement were scarcely visible as the Crimson opened up a deck-length on the Tigers after 500 meters and broke the race open with a power 20 near the 1000-meter mark.

Rowing primarily at 36, Harvard increased its lead to two lengths by the M. I. T. boathouse, and picked up another length-and-a-half in the sprint to finish in 6:40.2. Princeton, which had lost its second straight race after winning two early in the season, was timed in 6:54, while M. I. T.. never a threat to either boat, was seven lengths behind the Crimson in 7:07.4.

Freshmen Win

Earlier in the afternoon, Harvard's freshman heavies re-established their claim as one of the EARC's top boats by whipping Princeton by seven lengths and M. I. T. by eight-and-a-half. The Yardlings had lost badly to Brown last week after holding a formidable early lead.

Harvard's JV oarsmen, priming for a showdown next week against Penn, breezed effortlessly to a four-length triumph over Princeton minutes before the varsity contest.