Glossary of Rowing Terms

Blade: Flattened or spoon-shaped end of oar or scull; often used as term for oar

Bow: Forward end of boat

Bow (man): The rower or sculler in the seat nearest the bow

Bow ball: Safety ball fitted to sharp stem of racing boat

Bucket Rig: An eight, rigged so that the riggers or seats # 4 & 5 are on the same side, while the others alternate

Button: Plastic sheath on oar or scull to prevent it from slipping through the oarlock; adjustable on modern oars

Cadence: Uniform stroke rate

Catch: The part of the stroke when the blade is put in the water

Cockpit: Space for a person in a racing boat

Coxswain (cox): Steers the boat from a seat in the stern or a lying position in the bow

Crab: Occurs when rower fails to get the oar out of the water at the end of the stroke; can result in the rower being ejected by the oar from boat to water

Crew: Rowers who man a boat

Deck: Covered-over areas at bow and stern of boat

Drive: The part of the stroke between the catch and the finish, pull-through

Erg: Rowing ergometer. A rowing machine to measure the metabolism rate or amount of energy expended during work measured in ergs (unit of work).

Erging: Rowing on a machine off the water.

Feather: To turn the blade parallel with the water surface at the start of the recovery to reduce wind resistance

Fin: Small flat plate perpendicular to the bottom of the boat to aid steering a straight course

Finish (release): The part of the stroke just before and as the blade is taken out of the water

FISA: Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron; the International Rowing Federation.

Frontloader: A boat in which the coxswain lies in the bows

Gate: Bar across a oarlock to retain the oar

Gig: Inboard-or outboard-rigged pleasure or racing boat with straight gunwales

Gunwale: Horizontal plank at the top of the hull running the length of the boats cockpit

Hands away: The act of dropping the oar handle at the finish of the stoke so that the blade leaves the water and is feathered at the start of the recovery; sometimes referred to as "out of bow"

Inboard: The distance between the far end of the handle of an oar or scull and the face of the button. The remainder is called the outboard

Layback: The amount of backward lean of the rower's body towards the bow at the finish

Length: The length of a boat (i.e. "won by a length")

Oar: A lever approximately 12 ½ feet long by which the rower pulls against the oarlock to move the boat through the water; sometimes used as a shortened form of oarsman

Oarlock: A device which swivels on the end of the rigger to support the oar

Port: The left-hand side of the boat when facing the bow, all the rowers whose oars are in the water on the left hand side of the boat when viewed from the stern

Puddles: Whirls left in the water caused by the blade as the rower pulls

Recovery: The part of the stroke cycle between the finish and the catch in which the oar is feathered and the seat is returned to the aft end of the slide

Regatta: A competitive event raced in boats.

Release: The finish of the stroke removing the oar from the water.

Repechage: A second heat to afford another chance of qualifying to those running second best in preliminary heats

Rhythm: The proportion of time occupied on the recovery to the time taken on the pull through

Ribs: Braces between the keel and gunwale for supporting the hull

Rigger: A metal framework or a carbon-fiber reinforced arm to support the oarlock which is placed approximately 85 cm from the center of the boat

Rudder: Steering device attached vertically to the stern or under the hull of a shell

Run: The distance a boat travels in one stroke

Sculling: Using two oars or sculls

Sculls: A short oar used in each hand for single, double, and quad sculling boats

Shaft: The part of the oar between the blade and the handle

Shell: Smooth-bottomed racing boat; made of carbon fiber, fiberglass or wood

Slide: Parallel rails on which the seat which moves on wheels

Standard rig: Uniform alternation of riggers (and therefore oars and rowers) in the boat; the rower in the seat nearest the stern is usually on port side

Starboard: The right-hand side of the boat when facing the bow, all the rowers whose oars are in the water on the right hand side of the boat when viewed from the stern

Stern: The rear or aft of the boat

Stretcher: A frame with shoes to anchor the rower's feet

Stroke: The complete cycle of moving the boat through the water using oars or sculls; the rower seated nearest the stern

Sweep: Long oars with narrow blades

Swing: The rhythm created by all members of a shell moving in perfect unison.