Introduction to rowing


Rowing boats

In watercraft, a racing shell (alsothe lack of flexing means none of the
referred to as just a fine boat(UK) orforce exerted by the rower is wasted in
just shell) is an extremely narrow, andtwisting the boat.
often disproportionately long, rowingSliding seats
boat specifically designed for racing orA rower on a fixed seat is limited in
exercise. It is outfitted with longthe amount of power he can apply to the
oars, outriggers to hold the oarlocksoars by the strength in his upper body
away for the boat, and sliding seats.and the distance he can pull the oars on
The boat's long length and semicirculareach stroke. After outriggers were added
cross-section reduce drag to a minimum.to the shell allowing the use of longer
This makes the boat both fast andoars, rowers took advantage by taking
unstable. It must be actively balancedlonger strokes and using their legs
by the rowers to avoid tipping. Beingduring the stroke. At first, the
able to balance, or "set" the boat whileathletes wore trousers with wear
putting maximum effort into the oars isresistant leather bottoms covered in
therefore an essential skill of rowing.grease and the shells had concave,
Historylongitudinal seats. The athletes could
The racing shell evolved from the simplethen use their legs to slide along the
working rowboat. Boats with longer hullsseat, adding the power of their legs and
and narrower in beam were developed inletting them greatly lengthen the
the early 1800s specifically for teamstroke. This eventually lead to the
racing. These dedicated boats were themodern sliding seat, mounted on rollers,
first boats that could be called racingwhich allows nearly frictionless
shells, and they have since evolved intomovement of the rower's body.
the highly specialized forms used today.Boat classification
OutriggersThere are a large number of different
A narrower boat provides a sharper angletypes of boats. They are classified
to the bow and a smaller cross-sectionalusing:
area reducing drag and wave drag, andNumber of rowers. In all forms of modern
avoiding hull speed limitations at racecompetition the number is either 1, 2,
speed. The first racing shells, while4, or 8. Although they are very rare,
narrower than working rowboats, wereboats for other numbers of rowers do
limited by the width necessary to mountexist (such as the 24 person Stampfli
the oarlocks on the boat's sidesExpress). In the 1800s, there were often
("gunwales"). By attaching outriggers toraces with 6, 10 and 12 rowers per boat.
the gunwales, the oarlocks could bePosition of coxswain. Boats are either
placed farther out, two things happened:coxless, bow-coxed (also called
oars got much longer, providing morebowloaders), or stern-coxed. In coxless
length to the strokes, and hulls got("straight") boats, a steersman is
narrower, until they were as narrow asresponsible for steering by either use
it was possible while still retainof a mechanism connecting one of his
sufficient buoyancy and balance.shoes by wire to the rudder--the
Notable Hull Designersswiveling of the shoe turns the rudder,
Klaus Filter - FISA design (BBG, Filippior by using a hand controlled string,
Boats, WinTech Racing, Hudson Boatworks)called a tiller rope, which is parallel
Manolo Ruiz de Elvira - Vespolito the gunwhales or the boat, and
George Pocock - Pocock Rowing Shellscontrols the rudder in a similar
Eric Goetz - Resolute Racing Shellsfashion. Singles, doubles, and quads do
Materialsnot employ a rudder in competition; the
Originally made from lapstrake wood,oarsmen steer by increasing or
shells are now almost always made from adecreasing pressure on one scull or the
composite material for strength andother. In competition, bow- and
weight advantages. The first compositestern-coxed boats may race one another.
shells were made from a form ofAlthough sculling and sweep boats are
papier-mâché and became popular in thegenerally identical to each other
1870s. Modern shells are usually made of(except having different riggers), they
carbon-fibre reinforced plastic in aare referred to using different names:
honeycomb structure. They areSweep: straight pair (2-), coxed pair
manufactured by either cold laying up of(2+), straight four (4-), coxed four
the carbon, which is then left to set,(4+), eight (8+) (always coxed)
or by using heat curing, which ensuresSculling: single (1x), double (2x), quad
that the carbon fibre composite is(4x), octuple (8x) (very rare, and
properly set. The best shells arealways coxed)
characterized by their "stiffness", as



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