A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. [1] These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats. Other boats such as punts or small motor boats may also be stored.
A boathouse may be the headquarters of a boat club or rowing club and used to store racing shells, in which case it may be known as a shell house. [2]
Boat houses may also include a restaurant, bar, [3] or other leisure facilities, [1] perhaps for members of an associated club. They are also sometimes modified to include living quarters for people, or the whole structure may be used as temporary or permanent housing.
In Scandinavia, the boathouse is known as a naust, a word deriving from Old Norse naverstað. These were typically built with stone walls and timber roofs and would be either open to the sea or provided with sturdy doors. The floors would be a simple continuation of the beach sand or rock, or they might be dug down to permit a boat to sail into the boathouse. The boathouse is also seen on riversides or lake sides.
Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on marinas for docking, and being typically only for exclusive social leisures such as cruising, fishing trip or racing.
The Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake is a rowing lake in the United Kingdom, named after the Olympic rowers Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. The lake and its boathouse are specifically designed for training use, and provide training, medical, and scientific facilities for the GB rowing squad, and for Oxford University in preparation for the Boat Race. The lake is also used by crews from University College, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.
A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have developed into high performance competitive classes. Many of today's skiff classes are based in Australia and New Zealand in the form of 12 ft (3.66 m), 13 ft (3.96 m), 16 ft (4.88 m) and 18 ft (5.49 m) skiffs. The 29er, 49er, SKUD and Musto Skiff are all considered to have developed from the skiff concept, all of which are sailed internationally.
Boathouse Row is a historic site which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River just north of the Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It consists of a row of fifteen boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing shells. Each of the boathouses has its own history, and all have addresses on both Boathouse Row and Kelly Drive, named after Philadelphia oarsman John B. Kelly Jr..
Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829.
Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing.
Staines Boat Club is a rowing club between Penton Hook Lock and Bell Weir Lock on the River Thames in England. The club was founded in 1869 when it was first listed in the Rowing Almanac as racing in that season. Its boathouse formally reopened in May 2022 after renovations. It is located next to the Hythe spur of the Thames Path in Egham Hythe, historically also known as Staines hythe, the last word meaning small harbour or river harbour.
Chertsey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, against the left bank, an area of Green Belt including Laleham Park, the largest public park in Spelthorne. It faces the town of Chertsey and is the fifth-lowest of the forty-four locks along the non-tidal course of the river. Owing to a course alteration both banks at the site of the lock have been since medieval times in Surrey. Stone-built Chertsey Bridge built in 1785 is 210 m south (downstream) of the lock. The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1813, lengthened in 1893 and again in 1913.
Hammerton's Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England. The ferry links the river's northern bank near Marble Hill House in Twickenham with its southern bank near Ham House in Ham. It is one of only four remaining ferry routes in London not to be replaced by a bridge or tunnel.
The Thames is one of the main rowing rivers in Europe. Several annual competitions are held along its course, including the Henley Royal Regatta, The Boat Race and other long-distance events, called Head of the River races (Heads).
The Skiff Club is the oldest skiff and punting club in existence, having been founded in 1895. It is based on the River Thames in London, on the Middlesex bank between Teddington Lock and Kingston upon Thames.
Thames Valley Skiff Club is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Surrey bank between Sunbury Lock and Walton on Thames.
Walbrook Rowing Club, colloquially sometimes named Teddington Rowing Club, is a rowing club, on the River Thames in England on the Middlesex bank 800 metres above Teddington Lock next to Trowlock Island, Teddington. It is the lowest club on the weir-controlled Thames and is the organising club for Teddington Head of the River Race held in November for all classes of racing shells.
Atlanta Rowing Club (ARC) is a non-profit 501(c)(4) masters rowing club located in Roswell, Georgia. ARC's colors are red and white. As a masters organization, it is the only club in the Atlanta area for rowers who are beyond high school or college age, although there are several members who are in college. The club is a volunteer-based organization with 200+ members throughout the year.
University College Boat Club is the rowing club for all members of University College, Oxford ("Univ"). UCBC is based out of the college's own boathouse on the towpath side of the Isis.
City of Cambridge Rowing Club (CCRC) is the oldest 'town' rowing and sculling club in Cambridge, UK, and with about 300 members, it has one of the largest active rowing memberships in the region. The club's colours are dark blue, with a band of claret sandwiched between two bands of 'old gold'.
Leeds Rowing Club is a British Rowing affiliated club in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was founded in 2006. The club is based in two locations, its main boathouse is on the canal at Stourton by Thwaites Mill in the south of the city, while its Learn to Row and recreational rowing sessions happen at Roundhay Park, to the north of the City centre. The club row in dark blue, with a vertical yellow stripe between two white stripes down both sides. Blades are dark blue with a lighter blue tip.
The Stanford University Arrillaga Family Rowing and Sailing Center is a boating facility utilized by Stanford Cardinal Athletics for sailing and rowing sporting activities. It is located at the Port of Redwood City along Redwood creek in Redwood City, California.
Cayuga Inlet is a river located in Tompkins County, New York. It flows into the south end of Cayuga Lake by Ithaca, New York.
Abingdon Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Thames based on Wilsham Road in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
3. Drower, George, `A boat's abode: boathouses of the River Thames', House & Garden, March 1990, pp54-58