Editing Steering oar

{{Short description|Single oar used to direct a watercraft}}
[[File:Tomb of Menna - funeral boat 200dpi.jpg|thumb|Stern-mounted steering oar of an Egyptian riverboat]]  

The '''steering oar''' or '''steering board''' is an over-sized [[oar]] or [[lumber|board]], to control the direction of a [[ship]] or other [[watercraft]] prior to the invention of the [[rudder]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cotterell |first1=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-xOM8y6Uc8C&dq=Steering+oar&pg=PA260 |title=Mechanics of Pre-industrial Technology: An Introduction to the Mechanics of Ancient and Traditional Material Culture |last2=Kamminga |first2=Johan |date=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-42871-2 |language=en}}</ref>  

It is normally attached to the [[starboard]] side in larger vessels, though in smaller ones it is rarely, if ever, attached. The steering oar was crucial in the invention of larger vessels in a time when the technology for rudders did not exist. Steering oars were the typical steering mechanism on larger [[Viking ship]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJJAmD_6pW0C&q=steering+oar+viking&pg=PA12|title=Discovering Vinland|last=Sullivan|first=Jillian|date=2007|publisher=Learning Media Ltd|isbn=9780790319049|pages=12|language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steering Oar}}
[[Category:Sailboat components]]
[[Category:Sailing ship components]]


{{Water-transport-stub|date=June 2018}}