Daniel Lyons and Robert Espeseth of the US Olympic rowing team

A coxed pair 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 two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of two rowers, each having one

oar 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 ...

, and 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 ** ...

. One rower is on the stroke side (rower's right hand side) and other is on the bow side (rower's lefthand side). The cox steers the boat using a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

and may be seated at the stern of the boat where there is a view of the crew or in the bow (known as a

bowloader A bowloader or bow-coxed shell is a racing shell (a type of boat used in rowing) in which the coxswain lies semi-supine in the bow, as opposed to the normal seated position at the stern. Bowloaders are often seen as coxed fours and also cox ...

). With a bowloader, amplification is needed to communicate with the crew which is sitting behind, but the cox has a better view of the course and the

weight distribution Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocke ...

may help the boat go faster. When there is no cox, the boat is referred to as a "

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

Racing boat Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wat ...

s (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag to a minimum. 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-fibre reinforced plastic) for strength and weight advantages. Pairs have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to help the rudder. The

rigger Rigger may refer to: * One who attends to the rigging of a sailing ship * Rigger (entertainment), those who tend rigging in stage performance (theater, film, concert, etc.) * Rigger (industry), specializing in moving large/heavy objects such as log ...

s are staggered alternately along the boat so that the forces apply asymmetrically to each side of the boat. "Coxed pair" 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 ...

. It was one of the original events in 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 ...

but was dropped in 1992.FISA World Rowing - Olympic Games

References

{{World champions – Men's coxed pair Rowing racing boats

See also

References