A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a

racing shell In watercraft, a racing shell (also referred to as a ''fine boat'' (UK) or simply a ''shell'') is an extremely narrow, and often comparatively long, rowing boat specifically designed for Rowing (sport), racing or exercise. It is equipped with lon ...

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 hand side) and one on the bow side (rower's lefthand side). As the name suggests, there is no

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

(cox) on such a boat, and the two rowers co-ordinate steering and the proper timing of oar strokes between themselves or by means of a steering installation which is operated by foot from one of the rowers. The equivalent boat when it is steered by a cox is referred to as a "

coxed pair A coxed pair, abbreviated as a 2+, is a racing shell used in the rowing (sport), sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep (rowing), sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain (rowing), coxswain (cox ...

". Racing boats (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 Originally made from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 structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, shells are now almost always made from a

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

(usually

carbon-fibre 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 comp ...

) for strength and weight advantages. Pairs have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw. The riggers are staggered alternately along the boat so that the forces apply asymmetrically to each side of the boat. A coxless pair is often considered the most difficult boat to row, as each rower must balance their side in cooperation with the other, apply equal power, place their catch and extract the blade simultaneously in order to move the boat efficiently. "Coxless pair" is one of the classes recognized by the

International Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (officially FISA; ), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who succeeded Denis Oswald at a ceremony held in Lucerne in July 2 ...

and is competed in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

.FISA World Rowing – Olympic Games

References

{{fineboats Rowing racing boats

See also

References