| In watercraft, a racing shell (also referred | | | | characterized by their "stiffness", as the |
| to as just a fine boat(UK) or just shell) is | | | | lack of flexing means none of the force |
| an extremely narrow, and often | | | | exerted by the rower is wasted in twisting |
| disproportionately long, rowing boat | | | | the boat. |
| specifically designed for racing or exercise. | | | | |
| It is outfitted with long oars, outriggers to | | | | Sliding seats |
| hold the oarlocks away for the boat, and | | | | |
| sliding seats. The boat's long length and | | | | A rower on a fixed seat is limited in the |
| semicircular cross-section reduce drag to a | | | | amount of power he can apply to the oars by |
| minimum. This makes the boat both fast and | | | | the strength in his upper body and the |
| unstable. It must be actively balanced by the | | | | distance he can pull the oars on each stroke. |
| rowers to avoid tipping. Being able to | | | | After outriggers were added to the shell |
| balance, or "set" the boat while putting | | | | allowing the use of longer oars, rowers took |
| maximum effort into the oars is therefore an | | | | advantage by taking longer strokes and using |
| essential skill of rowing. | | | | their legs during the stroke. At first, the |
| | | | athletes wore trousers with wear resistant |
| History | | | | leather bottoms covered in grease and the |
| | | | shells had concave, longitudinal seats. The |
| The racing shell evolved from the simple | | | | athletes could then use their legs to slide |
| working rowboat. Boats with longer hulls and | | | | along the seat, adding the power of their |
| narrower in beam were developed in the early | | | | legs and letting them greatly lengthen the |
| 1800s specifically for team racing. These | | | | stroke. This eventually lead to the modern |
| dedicated boats were the first boats that | | | | sliding seat, mounted on rollers, which |
| could be called racing shells, and they have | | | | allows nearly frictionless movement of the |
| since evolved into the highly specialized | | | | rower's body. |
| forms used today. | | | | |
| | | | Boat classification |
| Outriggers | | | | |
| | | | There are a large number of different types |
| A narrower boat provides a sharper angle to | | | | of boats. They are classified using: |
| the bow and a smaller cross-sectional area | | | | |
| reducing drag and wave drag, and avoiding | | | | Number of rowers. In all forms of modern |
| hull speed limitations at race speed. The | | | | competition the number is either 1, 2, 4, or |
| first racing shells, while narrower than | | | | 8. Although they are very rare, boats for |
| working rowboats, were limited by the width | | | | other numbers of rowers do exist (such as the |
| necessary to mount the oarlocks on the boat's | | | | 24 person Stampfli Express). In the 1800s, |
| sides ("gunwales"). By attaching outriggers | | | | there were often races with 6, 10 and 12 |
| to the gunwales, the oarlocks could be placed | | | | rowers per boat. |
| farther out, two things happened: oars got | | | | |
| much longer, providing more length to the | | | | Position of coxswain. Boats are either |
| strokes, and hulls got narrower, until they | | | | coxless, bow-coxed (also called bowloaders), |
| were as narrow as it was possible while still | | | | or stern-coxed. In coxless ("straight") |
| retain sufficient buoyancy and balance. | | | | boats, a steersman is responsible for |
| | | | steering by either use of a mechanism |
| Notable Hull Designers | | | | connecting one of his shoes by wire to the |
| | | | rudder--the swiveling of the shoe turns the |
| Klaus Filter - FISA design (BBG, Filippi | | | | rudder, or by using a hand controlled string, |
| Boats, WinTech Racing, Hudson Boatworks) | | | | called a tiller rope, which is parallel to |
| | | | the gunwhales or the boat, and controls the |
| Manolo Ruiz de Elvira - Vespoli | | | | rudder in a similar fashion. Singles, |
| | | | doubles, and quads do not employ a rudder in |
| George Pocock - Pocock Rowing Shells | | | | competition; the oarsmen steer by increasing |
| | | | or decreasing pressure on one scull or the |
| Eric Goetz - Resolute Racing Shells | | | | other. In competition, bow- and stern-coxed |
| | | | boats may race one another. |
| Materials | | | | |
| | | | Although sculling and sweep boats are |
| Originally made from lapstrake wood, shells | | | | generally identical to each other (except |
| are now almost always made from a composite | | | | having different riggers), they are referred |
| material for strength and weight advantages. | | | | to using different names: |
| The first composite shells were made from a | | | | |
| form of papier-mâché and became popular | | | | Sweep: straight pair (2-), coxed pair (2+), |
| in the 1870s. Modern shells are usually made | | | | straight four (4-), coxed four (4+), eight |
| of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic in a | | | | (8+) (always coxed) |
| honeycomb structure. They are manufactured by | | | | |
| either cold laying up of the carbon, which is | | | | Sculling: single (1x), double (2x), quad |
| then left to set, or by using heat curing, | | | | (4x), octuple (8x) (very rare, and always |
| which ensures that the carbon fibre composite | | | | coxed) |
| is properly set. The best shells are | | | | |