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when a rower’s oar becomes stuck in the water under the force of water flowing over the oar, and the handle jerks back to hit the rower as the blade is held still but the boat is still moving. This can even result in a rower being launched out of the boat, often called an “ejector crab”. However, ideally rowers arrive at the catch at the right moment, and immediately apply pressure on the oar with the oar in the water which minimizes jerk at the catch. To accomplish this, the oar must be in the water slightly in advance of the rower's arrival at the catch where the seat reverses direction. When this action is completed correctly a bit of water, called "back splash" is splashed

After feathering and extending the arms, the rower pivots his or her body forward. Once the hands are past the knees, the rower compresses the legs which moves the seat towards the stern of the boat. The leg compression occurs relatively slowly (compared with the rest of the stroke) which affords the rower a moment to "recover" (hence the recovery nomenclature), and allows the boat to glide through the water. The gliding of the boat through the water on the recovery is often called “run”. Many people disagree on what is the correct ratio of timing of drive to timing of recovery, but all agree that a controlled slide is necessary to maintain momentum and achieve optimal boat run

The two fundamental reference points in the rowing stroke are the catch, immediately prior to the oar blade's placement in the water, and the extraction (also known as the finish or the release) where the rower removes the oar blade from the water. At the catch, the rower’s hips should be no farther forward than the oarlock to their side. If this happens, the resulting lever angle created will not be as effective as if aligned with the oarlock or slightly behind it. From the catch, the rower places the blade in the water, then applies pressure to the oar by simultaneously pushing the seat toward the bow of the boat by extending the legs. As the legs approach full extension, the rower pivots his or her torso toward the bow of the boat and then finally pulls the arms towards his or her chest


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The hands should meet the chest right above the diaphragm, and then drop enough to take the blade out of the water while giving the hands enough room not to hit the legs. If this is not possible, adjustments can be made to popwashers on the oarlock. The shoulders should not hunch up at any point during the drive. At the very end of the stroke, with the blade still in the water, the hands drop slightly to unload the oar so that spring energy stored in the bend of the oar gets transferred to the boat The aforementioned stages of the stroke where pressure is applied to the blade through the water comprise the drive of the stroke

 The rower pushes down on the oar handle (or oar handles if the rower is sculling) to quickly lift the blade from the water at the release. Following the release, the rower rapidly rotates the oar to cause the blade of the oar to become parallel to the water (a process referred to as "feathering the blade") at the same time as pushing the oar handle away from the chest. The blade should come out of the water square and then feather immediately once clear of the water. Should a rower feather his or her oar before this time, his or her blade can get briefly stuck under water, or even result in "catching a crab," 

With the full lung technique, rowers exhale during the stroke and inhale during the recovery. In laboured circumstances, rowers will take a quick pant at the end of the stroke before taking a deep breath on the recovery that fills the lungs by the time the catch is reached Because the knees come up to the chest when the lungs are empty, this technique allows the rower to reach a little bit further than if the lungs were full of air. Additionally, this technique allows the thighs to compress the chest, collapsing the lungs further than normal