boat that allow the rower to propel the boat through the water. The term comes from an old Old English wrigan or wrihan, which means "to clothe." It literally means to outfit or clothe a boat. Rigging also refers to the configuration of the boat and settings of the apparatuses. The following terms are often associated with a boat's rigging, along with other often used terms for equipment used in rowing. Backstay A brace which is part of the rigger of sweep rowing boats, which extends toward the bow from the top of the pin. Backstop The stop mechanism on the seat slides which prevents the rower's seat from falling off the sliding tracks at the back end (towards the boat's bow) of the slide tracks. Also, in the UK, the sliding seat position closest to the boat's bow. As a command, it instructs the crew to adopt this position. (The US calls this seat position the "back end"). Blade The spoon or hatchet/cleaver shaped end of the oar. Also used to refer to the entire oar. Bowloader / bowcox / bow steered A shell in which the coxswain seat is near the bow of the boat rather than its stern. The seat in a bow loader partially enclosed and is designed so that the coxswain is virtually lying down, in order to reduce wind resistance and distribute the coxswain's weight so as to create a lower center of gravity. Bow The front section of a shell; the first section of the shell to cross the finish line. Bow ball A small, soft ball no smaller than 4 cm diameter securely attached to a rowing or sculling boat's bow. Primarily intended for safety, but also used in deciding which boat crossed the finish line first in very close races. Bow number A card displaying the lane number assigned to the boat for a race. Bow rigged (UK) The person stroking the boat has their oar on the bowside (starboard or right) rather than the usual strokeside of the boat. Bowside (UK) The [starboard] or right side of a boat. Derives from the tradition of having the bow rower's oar be on the starboard or right side of the boat. Bucket rigged a way of rigging a boat so that a pair of rowers both row on the same side of the boat, contrary to rigging on alternate sides. In eights,