I believe you are thinking of a "rudder" Some boats typically of Asian design are indeed propelled by one stern-mounted oar. Rowing a dinghy or boat in this manner is called "Sculling".
Most use same front and back.
A hound's tail is called a stern.
The transom is the stern end of a boat, where you mount the outboard motor on a small boat.
In that the Stern is a noun referring to the back end of the boat, there's no way around it: longitudinal objects including boats all have two ends and, if they move in a predictable manner, one end is bound to front front (bow) and the other back (stern).
he is in the laboratory in slateport that has many boats and near the bazaar
Piece by piece in some large french boats.
The front is called the bow, and the back is called the stern.
The rear of the ship is called the "stern". The front is called the "bow". The rear direction in a ship is "aft". (head "aft" to get to the "stern").
War boats were called triremes.
The viking boats were called tall ships
The front of a ship is the Bow. The rear of a ship is the Stern. This is the same for small boats as well.