Racing Shell - Boat Classification

Boat Classification

There are a large number of different types of boats. They are classified using:

• Number of rowers. In all forms of modern competition the number of rowers can be 1, 2, 4, or 8. Although they are very rare, boats for other numbers of rowers do exist (such as the 24 person Stämpfli Express). In the 19th century, there were often races with 6, 10 and 12 rowers per boat.

• Position of coxswain. Boats are either coxless, bow-coxed (also called bowloaders), or stern-coxed. In coxless ("straight") boats, a steersman is responsible for steering by either use of a mechanism connecting one of his shoes by wire to the rudder—the swiveling of the shoe turns the rudder, or by using a hand controlled string, called a tiller rope, which is parallel to the gunwhales or the boat, and controls the rudder in a similar fashion. Singles and doubles do not employ a rudder in competition; the oarsmen steer by increasing or decreasing pressure on one scull or the other. In competition, bow- and stern-coxed boats may race one another.

Although sculling and sweep boats are generally identical to each other (except having different riggers), they are referred to using different names:

• Sweep: straight pair (2-), coxed pair (2+), straight four (4-), coxed four (4+), eight (8+) (always coxed)
• Sculling: single (1x), double (2x), quad (4x), octuple (8x) (very rare in world class, and always coxed)