Many long boats were symetrical. Thereby removing the need to turn the boat around. The oarsmen would simply turn about face and row again.
Not all boats had a drum to dictate the rowing pace.Many had a very heavy gong which produced the desired effect.
To facilitate movement of the gong from one end to the other, the following procedure was applied. Several of the slave oarsmen were made to lie on their backs lengthways down the centre of the boat. Their chests were then covered in tallow. The gong was then pushed along over their chests to the opposite end. To speed up this procedure,the rest of the crew had to sing this song.
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>"We're sliding a gong on the chest of a slave!"

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