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Equipment Terminology
Shell: (eight-oared shell) - A boat built for racing; usually 61 feet long, 24 to 26 inches wide at widest point and tapering to either end; weight fully rigged, 250-260 pounds; skin 3/16 - 1" thick.
Blades: The wide flat section of the oar at the head of the shaft, also known as the spoon. This term is often used when referring to the entire oar.
Scull: This term is used interchangeably when referring to one of the oars used in a sculling shell, the shell itself or to the act of rowing a sculling shell.
Foot Stretcher: An adjustable bracket in a shell to which the rower’s feet are secured in some sort of shoe or clog.
Seat: The sliding seat that the rower sits on. The term "seat" also refers to the rowers place in the boat; the convention is to number the seats from bow to stern, i.e. the rower closest to the front of the boat is "1-seat", the next "2-seat", etc. The 1-seat is also commonly referred to as "bowseat" or just "bow" while the sternmost (rear) seat is referred to as "stroke seat" or just "stroke".
Rigger: The device that connects the oarlock to the shell and is bolted to the body of the shell. On sweep boats, riggers are typically alternating from side to the other on adjacent seats, but it is not uncommon to see two adjacent riggers on the same side. This is referred to as "tandem rigging". Varieties include "bucket rigging", "German Rigging" and "Italian Rigging".
Oarlock: A U-shaped swivel which holds the oar in place. It’s mounted at the end of the rigger and rotates around a metal pin. A gate closes across the top to keep the oar in.
Button (or collar): A plastic or metal fitting tightened on the oar to keep the oar from slipping through the oarlock.
Pitch: The angle between the blade (on the drive when the blade is ‘squared’) and a line perpendicular to the water’s surface.
Slide (or track): The track on which the seat moves.
Gunwale (or gunnel): Top section on the sides of a shell which runs along the sides of the crew section where the rowers are located. The riggers are secured to the gunwale with bolts.
Rudder: Steering device at the stern. The rudder in turn is connected to some cables (tiller ropes) that the coxswain can use to steer the shell. Older shells have short wooden handles (knockers) on the tiller ropes. These knockers are used by the coxswain not only to steer the shell, but also to rap out the cadence of the stroke rate on the gunwale.
Skeg (or Fin): A small fin located along the stern section of the hull. This helps to stabilize the shell in holding a true course when rowing. All racing shells have a skeg. The skeg should not be confused with the rudder.
Rigging: The adjustment and alteration of accessories (riggers, foot-stretchers, oar, etc.) in and on the shell. Examples of rigging adjustments that can be made are the height of the rigger, location of the foot-stretchers, location and height of the oarlocks, location of the button (or collar) on the oar and the pitch of the blade of the oar.
Slings (or boat sIings): Collapsible/portable frames with straps upon which a shell can be placed temporarily.
Rowing Terminology
Release: A sharp downward (and away) motion of the hand which serves to remove the oar blade from the water and start the rowing cycle. Yeh, yeh where does the stroke cycle really start?
Feathering: The act of turning the oar blade from a position perpendicular to the surface of the water to a position parallel to the water. This is done in conjunction with the release.
Recovery: Part of the rowing cycle from the release up to and including where the oar blade enters the water.
Squaring: A gradual rolling of the oar blade from a position parallel to the water to a position (almost) perpendicular to the surface of the water. This is accomplished during the recovery portion of the rowing cycle and is done in preparation for the catch.
Catch: The point of the rowing cycle at which the blade enters the water at the end of the recovery and is accomplished by an upward motion of the arms and hands only. The blade of the oar must be fully squared at the catch.
Drive: That part of the rowing cycle when the rower applies power to the oar. This is a more (or less) blended sequence of applying power primarily with a leg drive, then the back and finally the arms.
Finish: The last part of the drive before the release where the power is mainly coming from the back and arms.
Layback: The amount of backward lean of the rower’s body at the end of the finish. Now we start again with the release and. . . .
Puddles: Whirlpools left in water by action of the oar.
Bow: The forward end of the shell. Also used as the name of the person sitting nearest to the bow.
Stern: The rear end of the shell.
Port: The left side of the boat when facing the bow.
Starboard: The right side of the shell when facing the bow.
Coxswain: The person who steers the shell and urges the rowers on during practices and in a race. A knowledgeable coxswain can also serve as a coach for the rowers and can be the difference between winning and losing a race.
The Stroke: The rower sitting nearest the stern (and the coxswain, if there is one). The stroke is responsible for setting the stroke length and cadence (with the coxswain’s gentle advice).
Ratio: The ratio of the recovery time to the drive time. The recovery time should always be longer than the drive time (how much longer I won’t say ... as someone wrote, the idea is to ‘move the boat on the pull through (or drive) and take a ride (i.e. relax) on the recovery without sacrificing the very speed that they have generated’).
Rating: The number of strokes per minute. Also known as stroke rating.
Set (set of a boat): The definition that I think comes closest to what rowers mean by the set of a boat is ‘form or carriage of the body or of its parts’. In this case the ‘body’ consists of the shell and the rowers. Items that can affect the set of the boat are the rower’s posture, hand levels, rigging (the favorite culprit ... especially with the more advanced rowers), timing at the catch and release, and outside conditions such as the wind. It is not unusual for rowers within a shell not to agree on what needs to be done to establish a ‘good’ set, i.e. a level, stable shell that will provide the basis for that symphony of motion.
Slide Control: Oarsman’s command of speeds at which he moves his seat along slide during the stroke cycle. Rushing the slide - is moving the seat too rapidly during the recovery. Shooting the Slide - is failing to keep seat directly under oarsman during the drive, thus increasing body angle.
Check: Any abrupt deceleration of the shell caused by some uncontrolled motion within the shell; an interruption in the forward motion of the shell. The coxswain is probably the most acutely aware of this abrupt deceleration and it has been known to cause whiplash in some extreme cases.
Crab: A problem encountered by a rower when his or her oar gets ‘stuck’ in the water, usually right after the catch or just before the release, and is caused by improper squaring or feathering. The momentum of the shell can overcome the rower’s control of the oar. In more extreme cases the rower can actually be ejected from the shell by the oar.
Jumping the slide: Another problem encountered by a rower when the seat becomes derailed from the track during the rowing cycle.
Missing water: The rower starts the drive before the catch has been completed (or even started in some cases). This is also referred to as rowing into the catch.
Skying: The fault of carrying the hands too low during the recovery especially when a rower dips his or her hands just prior to the catch (i.e. a sort of winding up). This usually results in the blade being too high off the water’s surface.
Washing out: The fault of rowing the oar out of the water, i.e. the blade comes out of the water before the drive is finished.
Swing: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing performance and speed.
