Central Ohio's Premier High School Rowing Club

aligner:  An official who's responsible for aligning boats evenly evenly for a fair start.

aligner's hut:  A hut or gazebo on the starting line, occupied by the starting judge and the aligner.

articulated Oars:  A type of forward facing rowing system using oars with two shaft segments separated by a direction reversing mechanism at the oarlock.  This type was featured in the movie "U S Marshals".  Not to be confused with the FrontRower system, which uses a different principle.  Also known as "bow facing" oars.

back splash:  Spray toward the bow from an oar that enters the water on recovery.

backstop:  A small block on the bow end of the slide, which holds the seat on track.

beam:  Width of the boat to the outside edges of the planking, usually at the widest section.

blade:  The part of an oar that pushes against the water.

blade work:  Lifting, lowering, and feathering the oar blades.

boot:  A device that holds the bow of a boat until the starting signal, when it drops below the water.

bow:  The forward part of a boat.

bowball:  A round rubber protrusion attached to the bow of a shell for protection.

bowman:  The oarsman who sits nearest the bow.

bowside:  The left side of the shell, from the point of view of the oarsmen, who face the stern. By extension, the oarsmen whose oars are in the water on that side.

bow facing oars:  See articulated oars.

bucket rig:  An arrangement on an eight or a four so that Riggers 2 and 3 are on the same side of the boat.

button:  A collar on the shaft of the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock. It can be adjusted up or down to increase or decrease the rower's leverage.

cadence:  The beat at which the oarsmen are rowing. With coxed crews, the coxswain often raps out the cadence to keep the oarsmen pulling together.

canvas:  The tapered section of a boat between the bowman and the bow of the boat or between the coxswain and the stern. So called because it used to be covered with canvas. catch: The portion of the stroke when the oar initially engages the water.

carry:  The distance a boat travels between strokes.

catch:  The portion of the stroke when the oar initially engages the water.

catching a crab:  Unintentional failure to release the oar blade from the water at the end of the drive portion of the stroke.

check:  Slowing or stopping a boat's forward progress by reversing motion of the rower's body mass.

check it down:  An emergency command from the coxswain to jam oars into the water in order to stop the boat.

course:  A straight area in the water, typically 4 to 8 lanes wide, for rowing competition. The standard Olympic course is 2,000 meters long.

cox:  Short for coxswain.

cox box:  A small electronic device that amplifies the coxswain's voice and also gives a readout of information, such as the current stroke rating.

coxed:  Descriptive of a boat or crew that has a coxswain.

coxless:  Descriptive of a boat or crew with no coxswain.

coxswain:  The helmsman, who has two important jobs: To keep the boat moving straight by making minor corrections to the rudder, and to keep the oarsmen rowing at the desired stroke rate.

deck:  One of the sections of a shell near the bow and stern that are covered, usually with thin plastic or fiberglass.

dig deep:  To thrust an oar too deeply into the water, resulting in loss of power. Also "knife in."

dinghy:  A small boat often carried on a larger boat and sometimes powered by oars.

displacement:  The amount of water displaced by a boat, i.e. the weight of the boat.  Also, a type of hull that moves by displacing water rather than riding on top of it or planeing

dory:  A flat bottomed boat with no structural keel and with bottom planking running lengthwise.  Traditionally used as hand-line fishing boats lowered from mother ships in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Featured in the movie "Captain's Courageous".

double:  A sculling boat for two rowers.

drive:  The portion of a stroke, between the catch and the release, when the oar is forcefully moving through the water.

eight:  Sweep-oar boat with eight rowers and a coxswain.

ergometer:  A stationary rowing machine that allows indoor practice. Erg, for short.

feather:   to turn the oar blades parallel to the surface of the water to reduce wind resistance on the recovery portion of the stroke.

fin:  The skeg.

finish:  The final portion of the drive, just before the oar is taken out of the water.

fixed seat rowing:  Traditional rowing system in which the rower sits on a thwart or board positioned crosswise in the boat.  Does not promote the use of the powerful quadriceps muscles of the leg to drive the boat.

flat water rowing:  Refers to rowing in calm smooth water as in the sport of racing in narrow beamed shells.

foot:  Stretcher See stretcher.

four:  A sweep-oar boat for four rowers. There is competition for fours with coxswain and fours without coxswain.

frig rig:  See tandem rig.

FrontRowe:  A patented forward facing rowing system which uses oars which are levers of the 3rd order, can be powered by arms or legs and features automatic blade work (lowering, lifting and feathering of the oars).

front splash:  The spray that's kicked up when the oar enters the water at the catch.

front stop:  A small block on the stern end of the slide, which holds the seat in place.

full paddle:  The highest level of power possible from an oarsman.

full pressure:  Same as "full paddle."

gate:  A bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar from popping out.

German rig:  The arrangement of an eight so that riggers 4 and 5 are on the same side while the others alternate port and starboard.

grabbing air:  Powering the oar when it is above the surface of the water, as may happen in the trough of a wave.

gunnel:  See gunwale.

gunwale:  The top of the side of a boat.

hatchet:  A large oar blade shaped somewhat like a hatchet.

hold water:  A command from a coxswain to the oarsmen to place their blades horizontally in the water to slow the shell quickly.

hull speed:  The maximum speed at which a displacement type hull will move easily.  The longer the waterline length, the higher the hull speed.

inboard:  The distance from the end of the oar's handle to the portion of the button that touches the oarlock.

inside hand:  The hand closest to the oarlock.

Italian rig:  The arrangement of an eight so that bow and stroke riggers are on the same side while the others alternate port and starboard.

knife in:  See dig deep.

keel:  A longitudinal timber that extends along the center of the bottom of a boat.

layback:  The backward lean of an oarsman's body at the end of a stroke.

let it run!:  A call from the coxswain to stop rowing at the finish, letting the boat glide through the water and coast to a stop.

lever:  A rigid bar used to apply pressure at one point along it's length by applying a force (effort) at a second point and turning about a third point or fulcrum.  There are 3 classes of levers, called 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order.  Oars having the fulcrum located between the handle and the blade are levers of the 1st order.  Oars having the handle located between the fulcrum and the blade are levers of the 3rd order.

loom:  The shaft portion of an oar.

lunge:  An abrupt lean of the body before the catch, which can throw the oarsmen out of timing with the rest of the crew.

Macon:  Traditional oar blade having a long narrow tulip shape curved or "spooned" surface.

mechanical advantage:  Can be either a force advantage or a speed advantage.  In the case of oars, the advantage is a speed advantage with the blade moving faster than the handle.

miss water:  To have too short a drive, usually caused by not getting the blade into the water quickly enough at the catch.

oar:  A pole with a flat section, known as the blade, near the end, used for propelling a boat through the water.

oarlock:  A pivot attached to a boat and which holds an oar.

oarsman:  A rower of either sex.

oar on gunnel rowing:  Traditional rowing system having the oarlocks mounted on the gunwales.  Requires a boat with a wide beam for sufficient spread between the oarlocks.

off keel:  Descriptive of an unbalanced boat.

on keel:  Descriptive of a balanced and level boat.

open water rowing:  Rowing in water which may have waves and wakes, as opposed to flat water rowing.

outboard:  The distance from the oarlock to the tip of the oar's blade.

outside hand:  The hand farthest from the oarlock.

paddle:  To row gently, with minimum force.

pair:  A sweep-oar boat for two rowers. There is competition for pairs with coxswain and pairs without coxswain.

pin:  A metal rod upon which the oarlock is mounted.

pitch:  The angle at which an oar is set in the water.

port:  The left side of a boat. port rig An arrangement in which the stroke rows on the port side.

power ten:  A series of 10 powerful strokes, usually either to gain on a crew that's leading or to open a larger gap over a crew that's trailing.

puddle:  The water movement caused by the action of the oars. The size and shape of the puddle are indications of the amount of power put into the stroke.

pulling boat:  A boat designed for comfortable rowing rather than racing or utility use.

quadruple:  A sculling boat for four rowers. Often shortened to "quad."

race pace:  A stroke rating that a crew can hold for an entire race.

racing start:  The opening strokes of a race, which are typically rowed at a high cadence to get the shell moving rapidly through the water.

rating:  The number of strokes per minute a crew is rowing.

recovery:  The portion of the stroke, between the release and the catch, during which the oar is brought into position for the next stroke.

recreational rowing:  Rowing for recreation (enjoyment) rather than as a sport (racing).

regatta:  Competitive rowing race.

release:  Portion of the rowing stroke where the blade leaves the water.

repechage:  A round of competition for boats that lost in a preliminary heat. Top finishers in a repechage continue to further rounds.

rig:  Rowing gear.

rigger:  A device that connects the oarlock to the shell.

rocker:  Upward curvature of the bottom of a boat at the ends.

rowlock:  Another name for the oarlock.

rudder:  Movable fin at the aft end of a boat used for steering

rudder cable:  A rope or cable operated by the coxswain to turn the rudder.

run:  The distance a boat travels during one stroke.

rush the slide:  To move from the recovery to the catch too quickly, often the result of a lunge.

scull:  To propel a boat with a single oar off the stern.  Also, to propel a boat using a pair of oars, one in each hand, as in sculling.  Also, a boat used for sculling.  Also, an oar.

sculling boat:  A boat designed for sculling as defined by racing organizations.

sculling:  A type of rowing sanctioned by racing organizations, in which each rower faces backwards and uses a pair of oars which are levers of the 1st order.

seal launch:  A method of launching a boat by boarding it while on a dock and sliding the loaded boat into the water.

set:  The boat's balance, a delicate property that's affected by the posture and timing of the rowers as well as by qualities of the boat itself.

sheer line:  The line formed by the uppermost portion of the sides of the boat.

shell:  A racing boat.

single:  A sculling boat for one rower.

skeg:  A fixed fin at the aft end of a boat to help tracking.

skiff:  A flat bottomed boat with no keel and crosswise planking, usually used for utility purposes.  Also any small boat.

skying:  A poor rowing technique in which the blade is too high above the surface of the water at the catch.

slide:  A set of runners holding wheels for each seat in a boat.

sliding rigger:  Rowing system using a fixed seat and moving oarlocks to develop leg power.  More efficient than a sliding seat, this system won the world championships for men's singles in 1981, 1982 and 1983, before it was outlawed by race sanctioning bodies.

sprint:  1) The last 500 meters of a 2,000-meter race. 2) A race substantially shorter than 2,000 meters.

square:  To turn the oar's blade so it's perpendicular to the surface of the water. The blade is squared at the end of recovery, in preparation for the catch.

starting dock:  A dock at the start line where the boats are aligned before the race.

starboard:  The right side of a boat.

stern:  The aft end of a boat.

stretcher:  Device used in sculling boats for clamping the rowers feet to the boat.

stroke:  1) The total rowing motion, including catch, drive, finish, release, and recovery. 2) The rower nearest the stern, who sets the cadence for the rest of the crew.

sweep:  The oar used in a sweep-oared boat; as an adjective, descriptive of the boat itself.

sweep-oar rowing:  Rowing with a single oar, gripped by both hands.

tandem rig:  A rowing arrangement in which each set of two adjacent riggers is on the same side of the boat.

toe:  To operate a rudder that's controlled by the foot.

touring:  Rowing for pleasure.

touring rowboat:  Rowing boat optimized for comfortable long distance rowing.

track:  A U-shaped piece of metal that keeps the wheels of a seat on a straight path. A slide is made up of two tracks.

tumblehome:  Sides of the boat leaning inward to narrow the width at the gunwale.

wash out:  To bring the blade out of the water before the drive has been completed, thus losing power.

waterline beam:  Width of a boat at the loaded waterline.

waterline length:  Length of the boat at the loaded waterline.

wherry:  Lightly built boat designed for comfortable rowing rather than racing or utility use.