Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1982-0819-033, Nationalmannschaft, DDR, Doppelvierer

A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated 4x, is a

rowing boat Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by

sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...

with two

oars An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

, or "sculls", one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag. They usually have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw. Originally made from

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

, shells are now almost always made from a

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

(usually

carbon-fiber reinforced plastic Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

) for strength and weight advantages. The riggers in sculling apply the forces symmetrically to each side of the boat. Quad sculls is one of the classes recognized by the

International Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (former abbreviation FISA; french: Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who ...

and the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. FISA rules specify minimum weights for each class of boat so that no individual will gain a great advantage from the use of expensive materials or technology. When there are four rowers in a boat, each with only one sweep oar and rowing on opposite sides, the combination is referred to as a "

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...

" or "

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

" depending on whether the boat has a

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

. In sweep oared racing the rigging means the forces are staggered alternately along the boat. The symmetrical forces in sculling make the boat more efficient and so the quadruple scull is faster than the coxless four.

List of world records in rowing In rowing there are not world records due to the huge variability that weather conditions can have on times. Instead there are world best times, which are set over the international rowing distance of 2000 m. On water records Rowing times are st ...

A 'quad' is different from a 'four' in that a 'quad', or quadruple scull, is composed of four rowers each with two blades, sculling. A 'four' is made up of four rowers each with one oar in hand, sweeping.

References

{{fineboats Rowing racing boats

See also

References