Racing shell

The first racing shells, while narrower than working rowboats, were limited by the width necessary to mount the oarlocks on the boat's sides ("gunwales").

The next evolution of rowing shells were mainly created from thin plywood sandwiching a cardboard honeycomb structure with a fiberglass outer hull.

The best shells are characterized by their "stiffness", as the lack of flexing means none of the force exerted by the rower is wasted in twisting the boat.

At first, the athletes wore trousers with wear resistant leather bottoms covered in grease and the shells had concave, longitudinal seats.

Warin, of Toronto, a boat builder and famous decoy maker, was coach to world rowing champion Ned Hanlan.

[4] The disadvantage is that this arrangement may result in blisters on one's buttocks and in the risk of sliding off one's seat when exerting too much explosive force at the beginning of a race .

The most commonly damaged piece of rowing equipment is the skeg, which is a metal or plastic fin that extends from the bottom of the boat to help maintain stability and to assist in steering.

Hull damage can be caused by submerged logs, poor strapping to trailers, and collisions with other boats, docks, rocks, etc.

These are specially designed storage areas which usually consist of a long two-story building with a large door at one end which leads out to a pontoon or slipway on the river or lakeside.

Boat houses are typically associated with rowing clubs and often include some social facilities on the upper floor: a cafe, bar, or gym, in addition to changing areas for the rowers.

There are numerous companies worldwide producing a spectrum of boats for all levels of the sport including Empacher, Filippi, Hudson, Stämpfli, Wintech, and Vespoli which are renowned racing shell manufacturers.