Boat positions
In the sport of rowing, each rower is numbered by boat position in ascending order from the bow to the stern (with the exception of single sculls). The person who is seated on the first seat is always the 'bow', the closest to the stern is commonly referred to as the 'stroke'. There are some exceptions to this: Rowers in continental Europe number from stern up to bow (not in the Netherlands, there numbering is also from bow, no.1, to stern , no. 8 in an 8). Certain crew members have other informal titles and roles. Stroke seat in most cases is responsible for keeping pace for the boat, while the coxswain is responsible for the steering of the boat.
Steering[edit]
In coxless pairs, double sculls, quadruple sculls and coxless fours, one of the rowers will be designated to steer. He or she will control the rudder using lines attached to the toe of one shoe, which pivots around the ball of the foot. The rower who steers is chosen according to experience and the nature of the course on which the boat is rowing: bow has a clear view ahead when looking over one's shoulder, whereas stroke may be able to steer well on a straight course by pointing the stern at a reference point. A rower steering in the middle of a four or quad is not uncommon, since bow and stroke have other duties already.
Boat rigging[edit]
Traditionally a boat is organized so that alternate rowers row on port and starboard (or strokeside and bowside), with stroke on port side (having their blade to their own right) (strokeside). This is sometimes reversed, so that stroke is on the other side (having their blade to their own left); such a boat is usually described as 'bow rigged'. This is often on the basis of the abilities of the available personnel, to allow putting an experienced starboard side (bowside) rower in the stroke seat, for example but it is the norm for UK coastal rowers where racing is done clockwise around buoys. The eight in the illustration at the top of this article is rigged strokeside. If the eight were bow rigged, the oar for the stroke (number 8) rower would be on the other side of the boat (bowside or starboard).
There are other options, and in particular in fours the middle pair may row on the same side: this arrangement means that there is less yawing of the boat through the water throughout the course of the stroke, making it more efficient. The two rowers in the middle, rowing in a 'tandem', need to be well matched and synchronised to make this work (i.e. avoid clashing blades), and the bow person, rowing with a significant gap between them and stroke on their side of the boat, also needs to be able to adapt to the larger space in front of them. Recently around half of finalists in World Cup and World Championships regattas have been rigged with a tandem middle pair, though it is less common at lower levels of competition. Occasionally eights are rigged with one or more tandems: several rigs are possible.