In watercraft, a shell or racing shell is an extremely narrow, and often disproportionately long, rowing boat specifically intended for racing or exercise. It is semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag to a minimum. This makes them unstable and liable to tip. Being able to balance, or "set" the boat while putting maximum effort into the oars is therefore an essential skill of rowing.

Originally made from wood, shells are now almost always made from a composite material for strength and weight advantages. The first composite shells were made from a form of papier-mâché and became popular in the 1870s. Modern shells are usually made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic in a honeycomb structure. They are manufactured by either cold laying up of the carbon, which is then left to set, or by using heat curing, which ensures that the carbon fibre composite is properly set. 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.

Boat classification

There are a large number of different types of boats. They are classified using:

• Number of rowers. In all forms of modern competition the number is either 1, 2, 4, or 8. Although they are very rare, boats for other numbers of rowers do exist (such as the 24 person Stampfli Express). In the 1800s, there were often races with 6, 10 and 12 rowers per boat.

• Position of coxswain. Boats are either coxless, bow-coxed (also called bowloaders), or stern-coxed. In coxless ("straight") boats, a steersman is responsible for steering by use of a mechanism connecting one of his shoes by wire to the rudder--the swiveling of the shoe turns the rudder. Singles, doubles, and quads do not employ a rudder in competition; the oarsmen steer by increasing or decreasing pressure on one scull or the other. In competition, bow- and stern-coxed boats may race one another.

Although sculling and sweep boats are generally identical to each other (except having different riggers), they are referred to using different names:

• Sweep: straight pair (2-), coxed pair (2+), straight four (4-), coxed four (4+), eight (8+) (always coxed)
• Sculling: single (1x), double (2x), quad (4x), octuple (8x) (very rare, and always coxed)

Notable Shell Manufacturers

Europe

• Empacher, German manufacturer of racing shells
• Eton Racing Boats, UK manufacturer of racing shells
• Filippi, large Italian racing shell manufacturer
• Lola Aylings, based in Cambridgeshire, UK
• Raymond Sims, based in Nottingham, UK

North America

• Alden
• Dirigo, Maine based racing shell company
• Hudson Boatworks, Canadian shell manufacturer
• Kaschper, Canadian shell manufacturer
• Maas, open water racing shells
• Pocock, large US west coast rowing shell manufacturer
• Resolute Racing Shells, shell company founded by Steve Gladstone and Eric Goetz
• Vespoli, major manufacturer of racing shells in the US

Oceania

• Ausrowtec, Australian manufacturer of racing shells

External links

• Pocock Racing Shells
• Vespoli Website
• Resolute Racing Shells Website
• A history of paper boats, including the paper racing shell

Rowing | Boat types