A rowlock on a rowing boat

A rowlock used for the sport of rowing

A rowlock (British) or oarlock (US) is a device that attaches an oar to a boat. An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end With regard to Watercraft, rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of Oars in the water When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a fulcrum, and, in doing so, the propulsive force that the rower exerts on the water with the oar is transferred to the boat by the thrust force exerted on the rowlock.

On ordinary rowing craft, the rowlocks are attached to the gunwales. The gunwale (ˈɡʌnəl "gunnel" to rhyme with "tunnel" is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a Boat. In the sport of rowing, the rowlocks are attached to outriggers (often just called "riggers"), which project from the boat and provide better leverage. GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 An outrigger is a part of a boat's Rigging which is rigid and extends beyond the side or Gunwale of a boat In sport rowing, the rowlocks are normally U-shaped and attached to a vertical pin which allows the rowlock to pivot around the pin during the rowing stroke. They additionally have a locking mechanism across the top of the "U" to prevent the oar from unintentionally popping out of the rowlock.

Originally rowlocks were two wooden posts that the shaft of the oar nestled between.

Trivia

The Norwegian municipalities of Fosnes, Radøy and Tjøme have rowlocks in their coats-of-arms. Fosnes is a municipality in the Namdalen district in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Radøy is an island municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway Tjøme is a municipality in the county of Vestfold, Norway The parish of Tjømø was established as a municipality January 1 1838 (see Formannskapsdistrikt