A dragon boat (also dragonboat) is a very long and narrow canoe-style human-powered boat. It is now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China over 2000 years ago.
The standard crew complement of a contemporary dragon boat is around 22, comprising
- 20 paddlers in pairs facing toward the bow of the boat
- 1 drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers
- 1 sweep or tiller(helm) at the rear of the boat.
The paddlers, paddle and paddling
The paddlers sit facing forwards (unlike aft-facing seated rowers), and use a specific type of paddle which (unlike a rowing oar or sculling scull) is not rigged to the racing watercraft in any way. Therefore, Dragon boaters are paddlers not rowers or oarsmen/women. They paddle in a general canoe style since canoes dragon boats, proa's and rafts are all distinctly differing paddle craft all paddled similarly variations exist due to the size and seating position in the boat (Note that the sweep is not a helmsman or 'coxswain', which are British-based naval and competitive rowing terms (coxswain is also a Canadian War Canoe racing term) for the person in charge of the boat. In dragon boating, the drummer and the sweep may both take charge, however if there is only a sweep and no drummer, the sweep generally takes charge.)
The drummer and drumming
The drummer or cox may be considered the "heartbeat" of the dragon boat, and leads the crew throughout a race with the rhythmic beating of a drum to indicate the timing and frequency of paddling strokes (that is, the cadence, picking up the pace, slowing the rate, etc.) Good callers should be able to synchronize the drumming cadence with the strokes of the leading pair of paddlers, rather than the other way around.
The sweep, sweep oar and sweeping
The sweep, known also as the steersman controls the dragon boat with a sweep oar rigged at the rear of the boat, generally on the side and off centre, which is used both for ruddering as well as for sweeping the stern sidewards. The sweep must constantly be aware of the boat's surroundings. Since the sweep is the only person in the boat who is able to con the boat looking forward (the drummer is seated facing backward or aft) he or she has the obligation to override the caller at any time during the race (or the coach during practice) if the safety of the crew is threatened in any way such as an impending collision with another boat or a fixed or floating obstruction in the water.
