Oar Terminology

Bow: The end of the shell to the rowers back while sitting in the boat. The first part of the boat to cross the finish line.
C.L.A.M.: Clip-on Load Adjusting Mechanism - slides on and off shaft and fits over sleeve to quickly adjust inboard of an oar or scull. Adding one C.L.A.M. increases the inboard by 1 cm, thereby decreasing the load you feel on the oar(s).
Inboard: Distance from end of handle to the blade-side face of collar or C.L.A.M. The greater the inboard, the lighter the oar will feel in your hands, and the lighter your load will be when pulling through the water.
Insert: Blue, black or white plastic bushing fitting on the top and bottom of oarlock.
Load: Also called gearing or leverage. Just as the gearing on a bicycle determines the force felt at the pedal, the load defined by certain rigging measurements determines the force felt at the oar handle. For example, you can increase the load by doing any of the following: decreasing the inboard; increasing the outboard; increasing your reach; using a longer oar without changing inboard or spread.
Oarlock: Device which swivels around the rigger pin and holds oar.
Oarlock Height: Vertical distance from the lowest point on the front edge of the seat at the front stop position to the midpoint of the oarlock shelf. This determines the level of your hands during the pull phase of the stroke, when the blade is just buries. If your hand level is too low, you will not have room to maneuver and feather your oar. If it is too high, you will feel uncomfortable as you pull through the water, and your oars may tend to wash out (come out of the water prematurely) during the stroke.
Outboard: Distance between the tip of blade and the blade-side face of collar or C.L.A.M. The greater the outboard, the heavier the oar will feel and the greater the load will be.
Overlap: The amount by which the hands cross each other during the mid-point of the sculling stroke. The overlap is the function of the inboard and the spread and is generally described as the difference between the spread and twice the inboard. Increasing the inboard will increase the overlap, unless you increase the spread accordingly at the same time. Overlap is a metter of personal preference, but it is generally recommended to keep it between 12 and 16 cm. In general, tall people row with more overlap and short people row with less.
Pin: The verticle axle extending up from the end of the rigger, around which the oarlock rotates. The expression "through the pin" refers to the relative position of the pins and your seat at the beginning of the stroke. If the seat passes to the stern of the pins, you are said to be rowing "through the pin".
Pitch: The angle of the blade away from perpendicular during the pull phase of the stroke. This is the net result of the pitch in the oar itself and the pitch in the oarlock and pitch in the pin. Too much pitch makes it hard to bury the blade; too little pitch makes it easy to pull too deep through the water.
Port: The side of the shell to the rowers right while sitting in their seat.
Rig: The art/science of setting up a boat for an individual.
Spread: The distance between the two pins on a sculling boat; or the distance between the pin and the center-line of a sweep boat. Spread interacts with the inboard setting to determine the overlap of your hands when the oars are perpendicular to the boat. Also, the greater the spread, the smaller the arc that your oar blades sweep through the water.
Starboard: The side of the shell to the rowers left while sitting in their seats.
Stern: The end of the shell one sees while sitting in the shell. The last part of the shell to cross the finish line!