Seen from above, the rowing system – called “frame”- resembles a fishbone, symmetrical with respect to the central lane. On the benches sat side by side 3 rowers, one foot chained to the banquet, the other on the pedagna to give the push, in a unison rowing called “climb and fall”. It is a simple structure, but whose optimization in terms of spaces and movements took years of study and attempts. A radical change occurred before the middle of the sixteenth century: the 3 oars per bench, each operated by a convict, are replaced by a single large oar more than 11 meters long and equipped with grab bars to facilitate the handle.
In the middle of the lane there is a sort of collar, the mast of the tree. This was to fit directly on the keel, was 15 meters high and ended on top with a wooden crate containing two pulleys that facilitated the lifting of the antenna, a wood almost as long as the entire hull. To the antenna was inferred the large Latin sail, triangular in shape.
Moved by the wind and – in the absence of this – by human strength, the galley did not fear the calm that often stopped the large round ships: we can say that it was what we now call a “hybrid means of transport”.