Racing boats (often called shells) are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag to a minimum. There is some trade off between boat speed and stability in choice of hull shape. They usually have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to increase the effectiveness of the rudder.
Originally made from wood, shells are now almost always made from a composite material (usually a double skin of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic with a sandwich of honeycomb material) for strength and weight advantages. FISA rules specify minimum weights for each class of boat so that no individual team will gain a great advantage from the use of expensive materials or technology.
There are several different types of boats. They are classified using:
- Number of rowers. In all forms of modern competition the number is either 1, 2, 4, or 8.
- Position of coxswain (also referred to as cox). Boats are either coxless (straight), bow-coxed (also called bowloaders), or stern-coxed.
Although sculling and sweep boats are generally identical to each other (except having different riggers), they are referred to using different names:
- Sweep: coxless pair (or straight pair) (2-), coxed pair (2+), Coxless four (or straight four) (4-), coxed four (4+), eight (8+) (always coxed)
- Sculling: single scull (1x), double scull (2x), triple scull (3x) (very rare), quad (or quadruple) scull (4x), octuple scull (8x) (always coxed, and mainly for juniors and exhibition)
- Sweep/Sculling: Queep, 2 scullers and 2 sweepers (very rare) Randan, 1 sculler and 2 sweepers (very rare)
Single, double, and quad sculls are usually steered by the scullers pulling harder on one side or the other. In other boats, there is a rudder, controlled by the coxswain, if present, or by one of the crew. In the latter case, the rudder cable is attached to the toe of one of his shoes which can pivot about the ball of the foot, moving the cable left or right. The bowman may steer since he has the best vision when looking over his shoulder. On straighter courses, the strokesman may steer, since he can point the stern of the boat at some landmark at the start of the course. On international courses, landmarks for the steersmen, consisting of two aligned poles, may be provided.
Two hatchet sculls. The “blades” are at the top and the handles at the bottom of the picture.
Oars are used to propel the boat. They are long (sculling: 250–300 cm; rowing 340–360 cm) poles with one flat end about 50 cm long and 25 cm wide, called the blade. Classic oars were made out of wood, but modern oars are made from more expensive and durable synthetic material, the most common being carbon fiber.
An oar is often referred to as a blade in the case of sweep oar rowing and as a scull in the case of sculling. A sculling oar is shorter and has a smaller blade area than the equivalent sweep oar. The combined blade area of a pair of sculls is however greater than that of a single sweep oar, so the oarsman when sculling is working against more water than when rowing sweep-oared. He is able to do this because the body action in sculling is more anatomically efficient (due to the symmetry).
The spoon of oars is normally painted with the colours of the club to which they belong. This greatly simplifies identification of boats at a distance. As many sports teams have logos printed on their jerseys, rowing clubs have specifically painted blades that each team is associated with.
Indoor rowing (on ergometer, or tank) is a way to train technique and strength by going through the same motions as rowing, with resistance. Indoor rowing is helpful when there are no rowable bodies of water near by, or weather conditions don’t permit rowing.
A rowing tank is an indoor facility which attempts to mimic the conditions rowers face on open water. Rowing tanks are primarily used for off-season rowing, muscle specific conditioning and technique training, or simply when bad weather doesn’t allow for open water training.
A row of Concept2 “Model C” ergometers
Main article: indoor rower
Ergometer rowing machines (colloquially ergs or ergo) simulate the rowing action and provide a means of training on land when waterborne training is restricted, and of measuring rowing fitness. Ergometers do not simulate the lateral balance challenges, the exact resistance of water, or the exact motions of true rowing including the sweep of the oar handles. For that reason ergometer scores are generally not used as the sole selection criterion for crews (colloquially “ergs don’t float”) , and technique training is limited to the basic body position and movements. However, this action can still allow a comparable workout to those experienced on the water.
Sometimes, slides are placed underneath the erg to try to simulate the movement of being on the water. It allows the machine to move back and forth smoothly as if there is water beneath you. The slides can be connected in rows or columns so that rowers are forced to move together on the ergometer, similar to how they would match up their rhythm in a boat.
Indoor rowing has become popular as a sport in its own right with numerous indoor competitions (and the annual World Championship CRASH-B Sprints in Boston) during the winter off-season.
Perhaps one of the most common brand of ergometers is Concept2. The company offers multiple types of models , including the Model D, Model E, and the dynamic rower. An up-in-coming brand of dynamic rowers, RP3, produces ergometers that more naturally mimic the feel and resistance of rowing in a shell on the water. It additionally, has an interface system that provides the rower with more information about their stroke than a Concept2.
