An eight, abbreviated as an 8+, 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 competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a

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 ...

, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers sit in a line in the centre of the boat and face the stern. They are usually placed alternately, with four on the port side (rower's right hand side – also traditionally known as "stroke side") and four on the starboard side (rower's lefthand side – known as "bow side"). The cox steers the boat using a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and is normally seated at the stern of the boat. Because of the size, weight, and speed of the boat in comparison to the 4+ and 2+, it is generally considered unsafe to race the 8+ coxless or to have a bowloader 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 Originally made from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. Eights have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to help the rudder. The riggers are staggered alternately along the boat so that the forces apply asymmetrically to each side of the boat. If the boat is sculled by rowers each with two oars the combination is referred to as an

octuple scull An octuple sculling shell, often simply called an oct and abbreviated as an 8x 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 one of the events in the

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

.FISA World Rowing – Olympic Games
The first Olympic eights race was held in 1900 and won by the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eight (Rowing) Rowing racing boats Articles containing video clips

See also

References