RowingBoats.info for rowing boat info

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Welcome to RowingBoats.info, the site for information about various types of rowing boats, their construction, numerous uses and the different techniques you can use to push them through the water effectively. Rowing boats can be found in a host of different sizes from simple one man dinghies through to much larger and heavier craft that were designed to carry a larger crew of over a dozen people on the open water.

Rowing Boats : An Intro

The generic term 'rowing boat' can be used to refer to any kind of boat propelled by oars. This can range from a 6 ft pram dinghy for one person ,with one pair of oars, to the large clinker-built naval cutters (ie. a 28 ft boat built for 15 people, with 14 oars). Materials used in their construction can also vary enormously. Pram dingies (ie. a small dingy with a blunt bow) can be made of plywood sheets or can be clinker built (ie. a round shape formed from narrow planks or strakes which are rivetted together to form the hull). Rowing boats can also be built in glass reinforced plastic (GRP) commonly known as glass fibre - the term 'fibreglass' is not a generic term, however, it is actually a trade name. Rowing boats have also been made from a lightweight woven frame covered with animal skins or pitched calico. In Ireland, curraghs are stil made in this way. They are very lightweight, very manoeuvrable and ideal for line-fishing.

Rowing boats can be the general workhorses of a harbour, used for ferrying kit, provisions etc. out to a larger vessel moored some way from the jetty. Boats moored to buoys on a lake, an estuary or river can be serviced from a rowing boat which is very often hauled up on board or towed behind the larger vessel when it leaves its mooring. A small outboard motor of 1.5 to 4 horsepower can be used on the rowing boat provided that the transom is strong enough to accommodate it when in use. Rowing boats come into their own and are very useful for fishing on large lakes or rivers where the water is too deep for a fisherman to wade. Some boats are very light and can be lifted onto a roof rack by one person. Larger wooden rowing boats, too heavy for the roof rack, are usually hauled up onto the beach, lakeside or riverbank to be left there or taken away on a trailer behind a vehicle. Most rowing dinghies are very useful because their draught (ie. the depth of water in which they will float) is very shallow, allowing the boat to be rowed ashore into ankle-deep water.

Our site helps you find information about rowing boats, construction and rowing techniques. It is intended to be easily navigable, with relevant information to hand from every page, viewable in most browsers on various platforms.