Rowing Boat Rowlocks

Each oar on a boat needs to be placed in some form of a rowlock. The rowlock is normally mounted on the gunwale of the boat and provides the fulcrum point for the rower's action on the oars. Traditional rowlock arrangements may be as simple as using one or two wooden thole pins / pegs. If two are used, a wooden oar fits between them. If only one thole pin is present on each gunwale then this allows use of oars that have holes in them to match. An advantage of this arrangement is that the rower can release hold of the oars without fear of them slipping into the water. If the rower only has a pair of standard solid oars, an alternative is to lash each oar to its single thole pin using pieces of rope or cord. The common modern / contemporary rowlock is often made from plastic, cast iron or brass and fits into a metal plate and hole extending down through the gunwale. The oar is then placed into the open jaws of the rowlock. This arrangement allows a rower to 'feather' their oars with greater ease due to the fact that the shaft of the oar may be freely rotated within the rowlock jaws.