Watercraft rowing
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Rowing in the Amstel River by a student rowing club. |
With regard to
watercraft,
rowing is propulsion, usually of a small boat, by forcing one or more
oars mounted on the craft via
rowlocks to push against the water. The purpose can be
transport,
recreation or
sport.
The most common instances, called sculling, are those where one rower
pulls on two oars, each a single straight piece mounted to an
oarlock on the
gunwhale of the boat, thereby moving the boat in the direction opposite that which the rower faces. A single oar per rower, called sweeping, multiple rowers (usually coordinated by a
coxswain), articulated oars that facilitate efficient rowing in the direction the rower faces, maneuvers aimed at turning or at rowing in the opposite direction, and some combinations of these, are also well established aspects of rowing.
For the principal case described above, keeping equal forces on the two oars, efficiently coordinating the application of vertical and horizontal force according to the point in the cycle of rowing, and muscular strength and endurance, are major aspects of effective rowing.
Sport rowing is an important specialized case of rowing.
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A French galley and Dutch men-of-war off a port |
In ancient times, rowing boats (known as
galleys) were extensively used during
war. The
Persians and the
Athenians fought many sea battles in rowing boats. The Athenians rammed their enemy's ships at great speed - sometimes using up to 170 oarsmen. They also used moving seats which allowed the oarsmen to use their legs and propel the ship faster.
Galleys were an advantage over
sailing ships due to being easier to manoevure and quicker. The
Vikings took it one step further and added sails to their rowing boats allowing them to move very quickly with a tailwind. Their usage continued until the advent of steam propulsion.
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A Gondola in Venice |
In
Venice,
gondolas are popular forms of transport propelled by oars - although more modern versions have an
outboard motor. The technique [
1] of rowing is considerably different from the style used in
sport, due to the oarsman facing forward. This allows the boat to manoeuover very quickly - useful in the narrow and busy canals of Venice.
There are three different styles of Venetian rowing:# Single oarsman with one oar (the oar also acts as a rudder)# Single oarsman with two crossed oars (known as
a la valesàna)# Two or more oarsmen, on alternate sides of the boat
