Rigging is one of the most crutial aspects of rowing, and one of the most misunderstood.  By rigging appropriately for the size, strength and ability of the athlete, you can optimize speed, technical performance, comfort, and most importantly, the pleasure of rowing.

Here you can find a quick description of basic rigging variables, and a short discussion of how each variable can affect your rowing.

There are a number of rigging variables that affect your rowing:

• Spread;
• Inboard;
• Outboard;
• Overlap;
• Catch angle/Finish Angle; and
• Oarlock Height

Spread (span): The distance between the two pins on a sculling boat, or the distance between the pin and the centre line of a sweep boat.  Spread interacts with the inboard setting to determine the overlap of your hands when the oars are perpendicular to the boat.  Also, the greater the spread, the shorter the arc your blades will sweep through the water.

Spread affects many aspects of the stroke.  Moving the spread in towards the hull will allow for a longer stroke arc, and increase the load on the oar.  A wider spread will lessen the arc, and also lessen the load.

Many coaches use spread to alter the load (or "gearing") on the system. We prefer to set spread to enable correct overlap and correct catch and finish angles. We then change gearing by using adjustable oars to alter the outboard length of the oar. This allows correct gearing without affecting other important variables like catch and finish angle.

Inboard: The distance from the outboard face of the collar to the end of the oar handle. Inboard affects gearing: a longer inboard will lighten the load, a shorter inboard will increase load. Inboard also affects athlete position in the boat: the athlete's body must follow the arc of the oar handle as it moves, so inboard must be somewhat constrained in order to maintain the comfort of the athlete, and the athlete's ability to apply force effectively.

Outboard: The distance from the outboard face of the collar to the tip of the blade (as measured along the axis of the shaft).

Overlap: The amount of overlap of the sculling oar handles when perpendicular (90 deg) to the boat. Measured from the end of one handle to the end of the other handle.

Catch angle/Finish angle: The oar's angle from a line perpendicular to the shell. Catch angle is at the catch or beginning of the stroke; finish angle is at the finish or end of the stroke.

Oarlock height: Vertical distance from the lowest point on the front edge of the seat at the front stop position to the midpoint of the oarlock shelf. This determines the level of your hands during the pull phase of the stroke, when the blade is just buries. If your hand level is too low, you will not have room to maneuver and feather your oar. If it is too high, you will feel uncomfortable as you pull through the water, and your oars may tend to wash out (come out of the water prematurely) during the stroke.