Stern sculling

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Chinese sampan propelled by yaolu via single-oar sculling. Sampan-01.png
Chinese sampan propelled by yáolǔ via single-oar sculling.

Stern sculling is the use of a single oar over the stern of a boat to propel it with side-to-side motions that create forward lift in the water. [1] The strict terminology of propulsion by oar is complex and contradictory, and varies by context. Stern sculling may also simply be referred to as "sculling", most commonly so in a maritime situation. In fresh water, and particularly in sport rowing, sculling is use of two oars on either side of the boat by each person, in contrast to sweep rowing, whereby each boat crew member employs a single oar, complemented by another crew member working on the opposite side with their oar. [2] [3] [4] : 135  [5]

Contents

Overview

8 motions of the oar in rower's hands. In water the oar moves much like a propeller. (bow at the top) Sculling.png
8 motions of the oar in rower's hands. In water the oar moves much like a propeller. (bow at the top)

Stern sculling is the process of propelling a watercraft by moving a single, stern-mounted oar from side to side while changing the angle of the blade so as to generate forward thrust on both strokes. The technique is very old and its origin uncertain, though it is thought to have developed independently in different locations and times. It is known to have been used in ancient China, [6] and on the Great Lakes of North America by pre-Columbian Americans.

In stern sculling, the oar pivots on the boat's stern, and the inboard end is pushed to one side with the blade turned so that it generates forward thrust; it is then twisted so that when pulled back on the return stroke, the blade also produces forward thrust. Backward thrust can also be generated by twisting the oar in the other direction and rowing. Steering, as in moving coxless sculling shells in crew, is accomplished by directing the thrust. The oar normally pivots in a simple notch cut into—or rowlock mounted on— the stern of the boat, and the sculler must angle the blade, by twisting the inboard end of the oar, to generate the thrust that not only pushes the boat forward but also holds the oar in its pivot. Specifically, the operation of the single sculling (oar) is unique as turning the blade of the oar in figure 8 motions operates them. It is not hoisted in and out of the water like any other traditional oars. The objective is to minimize the movement of the operator's hands, and the side-to-side movement of the boat, so the boat moves through the water slowly and steadily. This minimal rotation keeps the water moving over the top of the blade and results in forces that transfer to the multi directional row-lock, or pivoting mount, on the side of the hull thus pushing the boat forward. Steering the boat is a matter of rotating the oar to produce more thrust on a push or pull of the oar, depending upon which way the operator wants to go. [7]

China

The Chinese yuloh [8] (Chinese : 摇 橹 ; pinyin :yáolǔ; Jyutping :jiu4lou5) is a large, heavy sculling oar with a socket on the underside of its shaft which fits over a stern-mounted pin, creating a pivot which allows the oar to swivel and rock from side to side. The weight of the oar, often supplemented by a rope lashing, holds the oar in place on the pivot. The weight of the outboard portion of the oar is counterbalanced by a rope running from the underside of the handle to the deck of the boat. The sculler mainly moves the oar by pushing and pulling on this rope, which causes the oar to rock on its pivot, automatically angling the blade to create forward thrust. This system allows multiple rowers to operate one oar, allowing large, heavy boats to be rowed if necessary. [9]

In crew

Single-oar sculling can occur in competitive rowing when a sweep boat is locked-on at the starting line of a race and the coxswain needs to adjust the direction the boat is pointed in. In order to accomplish this without pulling the boat away from the starting line, the coxswain will command a rower in the bow half of the boat to "scull" the blade of the rower in the seat behind them. By maneuvering the boat in this manner, the coxswain will be able to adjust the point of the boat without disconnecting from the starting line. [10]

Modern use

Modern sculling vessels come in many shapes and sizes and range from being traditional cargo barges and fishing boats to being basic or fun modes of transportation. Either way, they are typically most identifiable by their often side-mounted, unidirectional oar-locks and oars, which allow the operator, ideally, to use one hand to operate the boat. One of the greater attractions to these vessels is that they are easy and inexpensive to operate. [11] The typical modern barge-shaped and "flats"-style boats are still made from materials ranging from a variety of wood products, fibreglass, reinforced concrete, or metals. [12] Some are simply converted old motor boats. The traditional advantages of the smaller sculling craft as a hunting boat are that the operator can quietly sneak up upon fish and fowl without splashing or otherwise disturbing the still calm of the water. New commercially available single sculling hunting boats use very light materials and slick shapes for greater speeds and responsiveness. [13] Notably, the oars of the more modern single sculling vessels are now more typically mounted to pivot off one side of the boat. The operator can face either forward or aft.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowing (sport)</span> Sport where individuals or teams row boats by oar

Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddle</span> Tool for paddling boats or mixing ingredients

A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end, used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by pushing water in a direction opposite to the direction of travel. It is different to an oar in that the latter is attached to the watercraft via a fulcrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudder</span> Control surface for fluid-dynamic steering in the yaw axis

A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium. On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oar</span> Implement used for water-borne propulsion

An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculling</span> Type of rowing when a rower has two oars

Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its oars may be referred to as sculls and a person rowing it referred to as sculler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowing</span> Act of propelling a boat using oars

Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically attached to the boat, and the rower drives the oar like a lever, exerting force in the same direction as the boat's travel; while paddles are completely hand-held and have no attachment to the boat, and are driven like a cantilever, exerting force opposite to the intended direction of the boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racing shell</span> Rowing boat designed for sport

In watercraft, a racing shell is an extremely narrow, and often comparatively long, rowing boat specifically designed for racing or exercise. It is outfitted with long oars, outriggers to hold the oarlocks away from the boat, and sliding seats. The boat's long length and semicircular cross-section reduce drag to a minimum. This makes the boat both fast and unstable. It must be balanced by the rowers to avoid tipping. Being able to balance – or "set" – the boat while putting maximum effort into the oars is therefore an essential skill of sport rowing.

In competitive rowing, the following specialized terms are important in the corresponding aspects of the sport:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oar (sport rowing)</span>

In rowing, oars are used to propel the boat. Oars differ from paddles in that they use a fixed or sliding fulcrum, an oarlock or rowlock attached to the side of the boat, to transfer power from the handle to the blade, rather than using the athlete's shoulders or hands as the pivot-point as in canoeing and kayaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coxswain (rowing)</span> Member who steers the boat in a rowing crew

In a rowing crew, the coxswain is the member who does not row but steers the boat and faces forward, towards the bow. The coxswain is responsible for steering the boat and coordinating the power and rhythm of the rowers. In some capacities, the coxswain is responsible for implementing the training regimen or race plan. Most coaches cannot communicate to boat/coxswain, so the coxswain is the "coach" in the boat. A coxswain is necessary in the first place because the rowers sit with their backs to the direction of travel.

In the sport of rowing, each rower is numbered by boat position in ascending order from the bow to the stern. The person who is seated on the first seat is always the 'bow', the closest to the stern is commonly referred to as the 'stroke'. There are some exceptions to this: Rowers in continental Europe number from stern up to bow. Certain crew members have other informal titles and roles. Stroke seat in most cases is responsible for keeping pace for the boat, while the coxswain is responsible for the steering of the boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowing stroke</span>

In rowing, the stroke is the action of moving the oar through the water in order to propel the boat forward. The two fundamental reference points in the stroke are the catch where the oar blade is placed in the water, and the extraction where the oar blade is removed from the water. After the blade is placed in the water at the catch, the rower applies pressure to the oar levering the boat forward which is called the drive phase of the stroke. Once the rower extracts the oar from the water, the recovery phase begins, setting up the rower's body for the next stroke.

Boats used in the sport of rowing may be adjusted in many different ways according to the needs of the crew, the type of racing, and anticipated rowing conditions. The primary objective of rigging a boat is to accommodate the different physiques and styles of rowing of the crew in such a way that the oars move in similar arcs through the water, thus improving the crew's efficiency and cohesiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thwart</span> Seat and structural member of a boat

A thwart is a part of an undecked boat that provides seats for the crew and structural rigidity for the hull. A thwart goes from one side of the hull to the other. There may be just one thwart in a small boat, or many in a larger boat, especially if several oarsmen need to be accommodated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coxed four</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coxless four</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eight (rowing)</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

An eight, abbreviated as an 8+, is a racing shell used in competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweep rowing</span>

Sweep rowing is one of two disciplines of the sport of rowing. In sweep rowing each rower has one oar, usually held with both hands. As each rower has only one oar, the rowers have to be paired so that there is an oar on each side of the boat. In the United Kingdom, rowing generally refers to sweep rowing only. The term pulling was also used historically. In the other rowing discipline, sculling, each rower holds two oars, one in each hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octuple scull</span>

An octuple sculling shell, often simply called an oct and abbreviated as an 8x or 8x+, is a racing shell used in the sport of rowing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human-powered watercraft</span>

Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power or an engine.

References

  1. ↑ Mcgrail, Sean (11 June 2014). Ancient Boats in North-West Europe: The Archaeology of Water Transport to AD 1500. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-88238-1.
  2. ↑ Woodgate, Walter Bradford (1874). Oars and Sculls. J. Watson.
  3. ↑ Stevens, Arthur Wesselhoeft (1906). Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep. New York: Little, Brown, & Co. p. 90.
  4. ↑ McKee, Eric (1983). Working Boats of Britain, Their Shape and Purpose (1997 ed.). London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0 85177 277 3.
  5. ↑ McGrail, Sean; Farrell, Anthony (May 1979). "Rowing: aspects of the ethnographic and iconographic evidence". International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 8 (2): 155–166. doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.1979.tb01111.x.
  6. ↑ "The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China" by Joseph Needham, Colin A. Ronan, Cambridge University Press, 1978 ISBN   0-521-31560-3, ISBN   978-0-521-31560-9
  7. ↑ Meakins, Ben (14 April 2015). "Sculling over the stern". Practical Boat Owner. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Cranks with Planks". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Needham, Joseph; Gwei-Djen, Lu (1971). Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics. Cambridge University Press. p. 622. ISBN   978-0-521-07060-7.
  10. ↑ sculling-it-around
  11. ↑ "How to Scull". Jesterinfo.org. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  12. ↑ wooden-rowing-oar-plans
  13. ↑ Chad Dolbeare (22 February 1999). "Scull Boats: Waterfowl Stealth Hunting". LiveOutdoors. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
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