Rowing - Boat drill

Your Troop may also have a bigger boat that can be rowed by a crew. This may be a BP 18, a skiff or some other class. These boats will often have 4 oars and each oarsman pulls one oar. There are different ways of arranging oars in multi-oared boats.

An effective pulling boat crew must be able to row satisfactorily in time together, must behave correctly in the boat and follow the directions of the coxswain.

Conduct in a boat is very important. Remember there is only one person in charge and the crew must obey orders immediately. An ill-disciplined, careless crew can be a danger to themselves and to others. A Sea Scout crew should always be well-behaved and a credit to their own Troop.

When rowing, keep your back straight and use the force of your trunk swinging backwards for the main part of the stroke, only bending your elbows when you have leant back as far as you can. Use your arm and shoulder muscles for the last pull on the oar to help you swing forward again.

Do not wave the oar blade too high in the air as you swing forward (“skyscraping”) and do not bury the blade too deeply starting the next stroke. To direct a rowing crew, a system of rowing orders is needed. There are some different systems in use and it does not matter much which your Troop uses provided you all understand the same system.

The drill given here is the one which has developed over the years as the traditional Sea Scout system.

Crew assembles on jetty or steps. The oars, spurs and rudder have already been placed on board. The oars are laid on the thwarts on the correct sides, blades forward, bow oars inboard of the stroke oars. The rudder is inboard, just abaft the coxswains thwart. Coxswain embarks first, goes to the stern and ships the rudder.

Rowing - Boat Drill

“In stroke, In 2nd stroke, In 2nd bow, In bow” appropriate crew embark .

“Stand-by bowman” bowman unhitches the bow-line, but keeps hold of it and does not yet embark. If the boat has a boat hook, bowman may embark and use the boat hook to hold the boat alongside.

“Ship spurs” oarsmen put spurs in sockets. “Sight oars” oarsmen locate and grip their oars. “Toss oars” oarsmen lift their oars up vertically, feathered fore-and-aft, in line with each other. “In bowman, bear off” bowman embarks and pushes off from the jetty or wall. “Down oars” oars lowered on the appropriate sides, the blades touching the water before the shaft touches the gunwale. Oars shipped into the spurs and held horizontally, blades feathered. If oars are not tossed, the Coxain will use the order “Ship Oars” as the boat is pushed off from the jetty. The oars are lifted out over the gunwale. “Fenders in”. “Stand by” oars unfettered and oarsmen lean forward. “Give way together” all start rowing, taking their time from stroke oar

Rowing - Boat Drill

Other orders, depending on the situation might be –“Give way starboard, hold water port” to turn to port “Backwater together” to go astern “Way enough” - Stop rowing - when that stroke is completed “Hold water” - all oar blades into he water together and hold steady “Trail oars” - swing the oar looms forward so that the blades come into the side of the port - used when coming alongside if you don’t want to toss oars onto boat oars or in order to clean an obstacle “Easy all / port / starboard” Ease up

These orders can be combined to steer the boat, e.g.. hold water port, give way starboard would cause the boat to turn to port as in the diagram.

When coming alongside, the Coxswain will order “Way enough” at a reasonable distance from the jetty, taking wind and current into consideration.

“Fenders out” - fenders put out appropriate side. If going too slowly the Coxswain may order another stroke or two, but if going too fast may order “hold water”. The boat will turn this way