Human-powered watercraft

Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power (via one or more sails) or an engine.

The three main methods of exerting human power are:

While most human-powered watercraft use buoyancy to maintain their position relative to the surface of the water, a few, such as human-powered hydrofoils and human-powered submarines, use hydrofoils, either alone or in addition to buoyancy.

Oars are held at one end, have a blade on the other end, and pivot in between in oarlocks.

Oared craft include:

Using oars in pairs, with one hand on each oar, is two-oar sculling. The oars may also be called sculls.

Two-oared sculled craft include:

Using oars individually, with both hands on a single oar, is sweep or sweep-oar rowing. In this case the rowers are usually paired so that there is an oar on each side of the boat.