# Sculling > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sculling > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sculling.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculling > Source revision: 1327684255 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Type of rowing when a rower has two oars "Scull" and "Scull races" redirect here. For other uses, see [Scull (disambiguation)](/source/Scull_(disambiguation)). Sculler ready to catch with blades squared **Sculling** is the use of [oars](/source/Oar) to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the [stern](/source/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**.[1] Sculling is distinguished from [sweep rowing](/source/Sweep_(rowing)), whereby each boat crew member employs an oar, complemented by another crew member on the opposite side with an oar, usually with each pulling it with two hands and from [stern sculling](/source/Stern_sculling), which uses an oar to propel a vessel with side-to-side movements from the stern.[2][3] ## Overview Sculling oars for [competitive rowing](/source/Competitive_rowing) Sculling is a form of [rowing](/source/Watercraft_rowing) in which a boat is propelled by one or more rowers, each of whom operates two [oars](/source/Oar), one held in the fingers and upper palm of each hand.[4] This contrasts with the other common method of rowing, [sweep rowing](/source/Sweep_(rowing)), in which each rower may use both hands to operate a single oar on either the [port](/source/Port_(nautical)) or [starboard](/source/Starboard) side of the boat.[5] Sculling is generally considered the more technically complex of the two disciplines. Sculling can either be [competitive](/source/Rowing_(sport)) or recreational, but the watercraft used will vary between the two as the [racing shells](/source/Racing_shells) of competitive rowing are built for speed rather than stability. Racing shells are also far more expensive and fragile than what is suitable for the recreational rower; a typical racing shell sells for thousands[6] of [dollars](/source/United_States_dollar) while recreational sculling boats may cost significantly less. ### In crew [Quad](/source/Quad_scull), Germany, 1982. Stroke Seat: [Martin Winter](/source/Martin_Winter_(rower)). 3 Seat: [Uwe Heppner](/source/Uwe_Heppner). 2 Seat: [Uwe Mund](/source/Uwe_Mund_(rower)). Bow Seat: [Karl-Heinz Bußert](/source/Karl-Heinz_Bu%C3%9Fert). Sculling, one of the two major divisions of [crew (or competitive rowing)](/source/Rowing_(sport)), is composed of races between small, sculled boats crewed by various numbers of rowers. Generally, one, two, or four athletes row these [shells](/source/Racing_shell). These shells are classified according to the number of rowers that they can hold: [singles](/source/Single_scull) have one seat, [doubles](/source/Double_scull) have two, and [quads](/source/Quad_scull) have four. In keeping with this pattern, quads rowed by three people (due, for instance, to a temporary shortage of rowers) are often colloquially referred to as "triples". The boat manufacturer 'Stampflï' has created a triple with only three seats (rather than using a quad occupied by three people). A rare sculling shell is the octuple, rowed by an eight-man crew, which is sometimes used by large rowing programs to teach novice rowers how to scull in a balanced, [coxed](/source/Coxswain) boat. The physical movement of sculling is split into two main parts: [the drive](/source/Anatomy_of_a_rowing_stroke#Drive) and [the recovery](/source/Anatomy_of_a_rowing_stroke#Recovery). These two parts are separated by what is called the ["catch"](/source/Glossary_of_rowing_terms#Catch) and the ["finish"](/source/Glossary_of_rowing_terms#Finish). The drive is the section of the rowing stroke where the face of the oars, also known as blades, are firmly placed in the water and the rower is propelling the boat forwards by pulling against the anchor the oars provide. The recovery is the section where the rower's blades are not in the water, but instead gliding above it as the rower prepares for the next stroke. The catch is the moment the blades are dropped into the water at the end of the recovery and the start of the drive, while the finish is when the blades are slipping out after the drive is done and the recovery is beginning. In order to improve balance on the recovery, the blades are [feathered](/source/Glossary_of_rowing_terms#Feather), or held parallel to the surface of the water, at the finish, and [squared](/source/Glossary_of_rowing_terms#Square) (perpendicular to the water surface) at the catch. Competitive crew requires an efficient [stroke](/source/Anatomy_of_a_stroke) with all rowers matching the cadence and movements of the stroke seat, the rower closest to the shell's [stern](/source/Stern). The shell may have a [coxswain](/source/Coxswain_(rowing)), or "cox", to steer the boat, encourage the crew, and monitor the rate, though coxswains are highly uncommon in competitive sculling shells and the rower in [bow](/source/Bow_(rowing)) seat usually takes on these responsibilities instead. The bow-most rower may have equipment that attaches the [skeg](/source/Skeg) of the shell to one of the bow's shoes to aid with the steering; without such equipment, a sculling boat is directed by uneven pressure applied to the opposing blades. A key technical difference between sculling and [sweeping](/source/Sweep_(rowing)) in [crew](/source/Rowing_(sport)) is that the sculling oar handles overlap twice during the stroke cycle ([sweep](/source/Sweep_(rowing)) oar handles never overlap during normal rowing because each [sweeper](/source/Sweep_(rowing)) usually holds only one oar). The overlap occurs at the midpoint of [the drive](/source/Anatomy_of_a_rowing_stroke#Drive) and again during [the recovery](/source/Anatomy_of_a_rowing_stroke#Recovery); because of this, scullers must hold one hand (conventionally the left hand) higher than the other at the point of overlap. To prevent this from impacting the balance of the boat, one oarlock (conventionally the starboard one, to the rower's lefthand side) is rigged higher than the other prior to rowing.[4] This prevents the oar handles and the sculler's thumbs from colliding with one another and causing a [crab](/source/Catch_a_crab) or other problems. ## See also - [Single scull](/source/Single_scull) - [Double scull](/source/Double_scull) - [Quad scull](/source/Quad_scull) - [Octuple scull](/source/Octuple_scull) - [Stern sculling](/source/Stern_sculling) - [Oars](/source/Oars) - [Rowing (sport)](/source/Rowing_(sport)) - [Watercraft rowing](/source/Watercraft_rowing) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Woodgate, Walter Bradford (1874). [*Oars and Sculls*](https://books.google.com/books?id=-O0UAAAAYAAJ&dq=Sculler&pg=PA76). J. Watson. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Stevens, Arthur Wesselhoeft (1906). [*Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep*](https://books.google.com/books?id=M6ICAAAAYAAJ&dq=Sweep+rowing&pg=PA90). New York: Little, Brown, & Co. p. 90. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Mcgrail, Sean (11 June 2014). [*Ancient Boats in North-West Europe: The Archaeology of Water Transport to AD 1500*](https://books.google.com/books?id=eWLJAwAAQBAJ&dq=Stern+sculling&pg=PA209). Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-317-88238-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-317-88238-1). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-peinert1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-peinert1_4-1) ["Primer on How To Scull"](http://www.peinert.com/docs/Peinert_sculling_primer.pdf) (PDF). *Peinert.com*. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 30 July 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Eleven Rowing Insights"](http://www.usrowing.org/About/Rowing101/11Insights). *Usrowing.org*. Retrieved 30 July 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Prices | Janousek & Stampfli Racing Boats"](http://janousekandstampfli.com/prices/). *Janousekandstampfli.com*. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2016. ## External links Look up ***[sculling](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sculling)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - ["Cranks with Planks presents Sampans -n- Yulohs"](https://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fassitt/cranks/cranky_sampans.html) (includes excerpt from G.R.G. Worcester's *Junks and Sampans of the Yangtse.*) - ["How To Scull A Boat"](http://www.jesterinfo.org/howtoscull.html) (Good article including several diagrams). - ["Rowing 101"](https://usrowing.org/learn-about-rowing/overview/rowing-101) (Much pertinent information about competitive rowing) v t e Rowing Australian rowing Rowing Australia Rowing Championships Head of the River Head of the Schoolgirls (Victoria) King's Cup Head of the River (New South Wales) Head of the River (Victoria) Head of the River (Western Australia) Canadian rowing Canadian Henley Rowing Canada Aviron Secondary School Rowing Association University Rowing Association Head of the Trent New Zealand rowing List of New Zealand rowers at the Summer Olympics Maadi Cup Rowing New Zealand The Great Race UK rowing Boston Marathon British Rowing British Rowing Championships Head of the River Race Henley Boat Races Henley Women's Regatta National Schools' Regatta Schools' Head of the River Race Scottish Boat Race Scottish Rowing The Boat Race University rowing Welsh Rowing Wingfield Sculls Women's Boat Race Women's Eights Head of the River Race Henley Royal Regatta Grand Stewards' Queen Mother Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Double Sculls Diamond Ladies' Visitors' Prince of Wales Thames Wyfold Britannia Temple Prince Albert Princess Elizabeth Fawley Remenham Princess Grace Princess Royal US rowing California–Washington College rowing CRASH-B Dad Vail Eastern Sprints Harvard–Yale HOCR Head of the Fish Head of the Hooch Head of the Ohio Head of the Schuylkill Poughkeepsie Regatta SRAAA Stotesbury Cup NCAA D1 IRA ACRA World Rowing events Olympic Games Paralympic Games World Championships World Rowing Cup World Junior Championships World U23 Championships European Championships Asian Championships Universiade Pan American Games African Games Commonwealth Games Types of rowing Bumps race Coastal Indoor rower Lightweight Para Racing shell Sculling Stern sculling Sweep Rowing tank Women's Lists Glossary of rowing terms Club oars National oars Rowing boat manufacturers Rowing venues School and university oars World best times Category Commons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sculling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculling?action=history)). 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