This model represents a single racing shell or scull, a long and narrow rowing boat used by one person wielding two long oars. Sculls are built to be fast. They are rowed through smooth water, and steered by a foot-controlled rudder.
The model represents a boat manned by Edward Hanlon Ten Eyck, a sculler from Worchester, MA, USA. In 1897, E.H. Ten Eyck was the first American to win the Diamond Sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. The racing shell was built for Ten Eyck in Putney, England by J.H. Clasper. The model represents a narrow racing shell 31 feet long with a double-ended hull; a sliding seat for the sculler; and outrigged oarlocks. Made by William Beach, World Sculling Champion in the 1890s, the model was given to James A. Ten Eyck. It was donated to the Smithsonian in 1939 by James A. Ten Eyck.
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