rower's hands. So, the heavy force of a short rowing motion becomes a smaller force over a greater distance. From an observer on the shore, the oar is instead a Class II lever. Here, the fulcrum is the blade, planted in the water. The rower pulls on the handle and the boat moves along with them. The "Class II" perspective is important to competitive rowing. Effective rowers learn to lever the boat past the end of the blade, rather than pulling the blade through the water. The World Rowing Federation rulebook defines oars as Class II. Both the Class I and Class II perspectives can be used to calculate the forces on the rower, boat, and water, with equivalent results. The calculations are simpler for the Class I perspective. The mechanical advantage of the oar depends on the length of the oar from the oarlock to the blade, compared to the length from the oarlock to the rower's hand(s). The further away from the oarlock the blade is, the more difficult it is to row and the more distance each stroke will move. Balanced oar This is a normal, usually wooden oar to which weight has been added at the inboard end so that the blade end is noticeably lighter and easier for a rower to operate without fatigue. The two methods of adding weight are to either have a much larger section in the oar immediately next to the handle for a distance of about or to drill an hole inside the handle for a distance of about and add about 12 oz of lead secured by epoxy resin glue. For a oar the balance point is about 12 inches outboard of the rowlock. Often surplus wood is removed from the blade's width and thickness and at the neck between the blade and the shaft to further reduce outboard weight. As the rower is expending less energy accelerating the (now-reduced) mass of the oar back-and-forth, and will experience less fatigue constantly exerting downward force on the handle (vs. an unbalanced version) -- this type of oar is more efficient and thus preferable for long-range rowing. Oars used for transport The oars used for transport come in a variety of sizes. The oars used in small dinghies or rafts can be less than 2 metres long. In classical times warships were propelled by very long oars that might have several