The need for craft of the boat class in fisheries, pilotage, salvage, and transport resulted in almost innumerable models, each designed for superior performance in a specific task and to meet geographic and economic needs.
Eleven never made it, but the merry-go-round at the top of the big boat Class Zero saw the third winner in three days, the Bossom Challenge Cup going to Sir Peter Ogden's Spirit of Jethou.
The one boat class where some doubt remains is the men's C2.
Olympic qualification standards vary from event to event but most crews need to reach a World Championship final to qualify a spot for Great Britain in that boat class at 2012.
The single is arguably the toughest and most competitive boat class and although it would give Grainger more freedom in her training programme, it would be a tough challenge to take on just two years out from Rio, when she will be 40.
Rowing Fourteen different boat classes are raced, eight sculling events and six sweep-oared events.
Merrick helped develop an American team he thought could win medals in six of the seven boat classes.
In Washington in the winter and Bay Head, N.J., in the summer, he raced in such one-design boat classes as Soling, Thistle and E Scows.
United States crews won two gold medals and two silver medals yesterday at the world rowing championship for non-Olympic boat classes in Zagreb, Croatia.
Because it is an Olympic year, the championships here combined junior contests — for rowers 18 and younger — with seven boat classes of the world rowing championships that are not on the Olympic program.
