Boustrophedon wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:30 pm
In my little corner of the Meccanosphere the rowlock is obviously the fulcrum because it is the obvious pivot.
It all depends on what your frame of reference is, I suppose.
If your frame of reference is just the boat, the rowlock is the fulcrum.
If your frame of reference is the boat and the river then the rowlock is the fulcrum for moving the oar once it leaves the water. But when in the water the fulcrum is the blades of the oar, which are also the point of load.
If your frame of reference is the boat, river and immediate environs, then as the blades put a load on the water, the water moves backwards, and the pivot is some distance up the blade; the skill of the oarsman is to try and keep the pivot as close to the blades as you can.
"My interest is in the future, because I'm going to spend the rest of my life there"