A setting pole is a pole, handled by a single individual, made to move watercraft by pushing the craft in the desired direction. Because it is a pushing tool, it is generally used from the stern (back) of the craft. A watercraft is a vehicle designed to float on water for pleasure, exercise (in the case of many small boats) or transportation of people or goods. ... For other meanings of the term, see Stern (disambiguation). ...

A setting pole is usually made of ash, or a similar resilient wood, and is capped on the ends with metal to withstand the repeated pushing against the bottom and rocks. It can range in length from eight feet (2.5 meters), to over fifteen feet (4.5 meters) A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ...

A setting pole is best known as the means to propel gondolas in Venice. It is also used in river canoeing for navigating portions of river where the water is too shallow for a paddle to create thrust, or where the desired direction of travel is opposite a current moving faster than paddlers can paddle. A Venetian gondola A railroad gondola A gondola is a small long, narrow boat with a high prow and stern, best known for its use in the canals of Venice. ... Location within Italy Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A waterfall on the Ova da Fedoz, Switzerland A river is a large natural waterway. ... Canoeing is the recreational or sporting activity of paddling a canoe or kayak. ... A paddle is a tool for mixing or pushing against liquids, typically in order to propel a boat. ... For the land-speed record breaking car, see ThrustSSC and Thrust2 For the computer game, see Thrust (computer game) Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newtons Second Law when a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction to propel a vehicle in the opposite direction. ... A current is a movement or flow of fluids, especially water in a river or ocean. ...