An octuple sculling shell, often simply called an oct and abbreviated as an 8x or 8x+, is a racing shell used in the sport of rowing.
An octuple sculling shell with 16 oars, 8 rowers and a cox in 1907 (Frederick James Furnivall coxing an octuple from the then Hammersmith Sculling Club)
An eight, abbreviated as an 8+, is a racing shell used in competitive rowing. It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox".
Eights at the end of the 2002 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race