Sculling is a word that has two different meanings:

Competitive sculling

In competitive rowing, sculling means to propel a sculling boat or skiff, using two oars (one in each hand), as opposed to rowing which, strictly speaking, means propelling the boat with a single oar held by both hands. Most commonly, sculling is carried out by a single sculler in a single scull, but it is also common to see races involving sculling boats that contain two, four, and even eight scullers. The term skiff is applied to various river craft, but a skiff is typically a small flat-bottomed open boat with a pointed bow and square stern. ... A single scull is a rowing boat which is adapted for one person. ...

Single oar sculling

Venetian gondola

In the other meaning, sculling is a means of propelling watercraft by moving an oar from side to side, while changing the angle of the blade so as to always generate forward thrust. Its origins are ancient enough to be unknown, but include common use in ancient China^[1] (some time before the third century, AD), pre-Columbian American Indians on the Great Lakes, and most famously by gondola boat pilots from medieval through modern times in Venice, Italy. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1053x1479, 401 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Watercraft rowing ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1053x1479, 401 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Watercraft rowing ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... Note that this classification is now considered incorrect and should not be used in everyday writing. ... A Venetian gondola A gòndola is a traditional Venetian sculling boat. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ...

In single-oar sculling, an oar is usually locked by a pivot onto a boat's bow and/or stern, and pushed to one side of the boat with the blade turned so that this will generate forward thrust, then rotated ninety degrees so that the return stroke pushes in the same direction. The efficiency of this system has resulted in an old Chinese saying, "a scull equals three oars".

This continuous propulsion method of moving a boat is considered fundamentally similar to marine propellers, even an inspiration for them. For other uses, see Propeller (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Watercraft rowing
• Single Scull
• Rowing (sport)

Rowing in the Amstel River by a student rowing club. ... A single scull is a rowing boat which is adapted for one person. ... A coxless pair which is a sweep-oar boat. ...

References