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Row lock (patent No. 165,072)
"Be it known that I, Michael F. David... have invented a new and useful Improved Oar-Lock; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same … It will be seen that the bearings of the oarlock in the gunwale or outrigger are on the forward side of the lock, which serves to diminish the leverage or strain upon the woodwork of the rail, or upon the outrigger. This is an advantage over the common oar-lock in use, which has a pivot in the center.” -
Outrigger boat (patent No. 209,960)
Featuring a sliding rigger and stationary seat. “In operation, the oarsman being at the finish of the stroke, the feet draw the foot-board and rowlocks forward at the same time that the arms and body are passing aft. The oar is then dipped into the water, and as the arms and body pass forward in the stroke the boat is carried onward faster than the foot-board, so that when the stroke is finished the legs are again extended." -
Foot board and steering apparatus for boats (patent No. 231,017)
"This foot-board is designed to be placed in a row-boat in position to enable the oarsman to conveniently insert his foot within the heel-piece and straps. One for each foot may be provided. A tiller rope or wire may run from the rudder along each side of the boat to the foot-board through suitable pulleys or eyes." -
Sliding seat (patent No. 282,855)
A seat supported by anti-frictional bearings n shafts movable on anti-frictional bearings and by longitudinal and anti-frictional bearing, whereby said seat has free fore-and-aft movement. -
Rigging Stick
An early rigging stick was designed by legendary coach Arthur Meyers, co-founder of the Lone Star Boat Club on the Harlem River. The stick was used by most of the leading competitors until the 1950s. -
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Smaller Oars
British strokes in the 1930s used oars with smaller, narrower blades than the rest of the crew – the idea was the stroke set the pace, not his job to power the boat. -
The Small Wonder
The Small Wonder, the first eight-oared shell made for ordinary sized women, consisted of two fours cobbled together by Stan Pocock and Frank Cunningham because of their concern that shells were built for 6’4” 200-pound men. Frank observed that women rowing these large boats looked like “chipmunks on a log.” The Small Wonder and its oars are 10% smaller in every dimension than a standard shell. “Frank’s Little Women” rowed the Small Wonder in the late 1980s and early 1990s. -
Asymmetric hatchet blades first allowed in international competition
Pete and Dick Dreissigacker’s (Concept2) design was so effective that one crew switched to them between the semi-final and final heat at that year's Barcelona Olympic Games.
