Strap boat

A belt boat is rowing a racing rowing boat or a Gigruderboot which of the rowers with belt is moved. Each rower works with a belt either on the starboard or on the port side of the rowing boat. This construction is in contrast to scull boats , which provide two-sided "oars" for every rower ( single , double scull and double quad ).

Examples of belt boat classes in modern rowing are:

The crew in belt boats always consists of an even number of rowers whose driving forces on the starboard and port sides almost completely balance each other. Slight yaw movements due to different rowing styles and physical capabilities of the rowers involved in the boat are common in the belt boat. The non-symmetrical distribution of the rowers along the boat axis also naturally leads to the boat yawing in the course of an oar stroke. Strong yawing of a belt boat can be reduced by suitable rigging: in the so-called "Italian rigging", the outriggers are not consistently positioned alternately on both sides in the boat, but a "twin" is installed (two rowers sitting one behind the other work on same side). The resulting change in the force distribution has a positive effect on the yaw movement.

Traditionally, the batsman of a belt boat was always positioned on the port side. Thanks to the use of modern materials in the construction of rowing boats, these can now be used more flexibly, so that the batsman can now row more often on the starboard side. The rowers' individual skills therefore play a greater role than the traditional composition of the team. In English usage, the traditional positioning is still anchored, because the port side is often referred to as the “stroke side”, the starboard side as the “bow side”.

literature

Wolfgang Fritsch: manual for rowing: training - stamina - free time . 4th, revised edition. Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2006, ISBN 978-3-89899-111-7 .