Sport rowing

Boats

Racing boats (usually called "shells") are long and narrow in order to reduce drag to a minimum. This makes them unstable and liable to tip. Being able to balance, or "set" the boat while putting maximum effort into the oars is therefore an essential skill of rowing. Originally made from wood, shells are almost always made from a composite material (usually carbon-reinforced plastic) due to strength and weight advantages.

Related Topics:
Wood - Composite material - Carbon-reinforced plastic

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There are a large number of different types of boats. They are classified using:

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• Number of rowers. In all forms of competition the number is either 1, 2, 4, or 8. Although they are very rare, boats for other numbers of rowers do exist (including one for 16 scullers and 8 sweep rowers - called the "Stampfli Express").
• Position of coxswain. Boats are either coxless, bow-coxed (also called bowloader shells), or stern-coxed. In coxless boats a steersman (normally the bowman but not necessarily) is responsible for steering by use of a mechanism connecting one of his shoes by wire to the rudder, by swiveling the foot the wires moves the rudder. In competition, bow- and stern-coxed boats may race one another, but there are substantial differences created by placement of the coxswain.

Generally sculling and sweep oar boats are identical to each other except having different riggers however they are referred to using different names:

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• Sweep: pair, four, eight
• Sculling: single, double, quad, octuple