Vic Smith wrote in
:

On Mon, 04 May 2009 05:45:24 -0500, Jim Willemin
wrote:

"Don White" wrote in
:


"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
7.131...


snip


I was laughing all the way home, and feeling very smug and almost
righteous. Proud of my little boat, too - she was more than up to
the rescue.

Good for you. That row might have intimidated more than one pseudo
boater in this group.


It was sort of a Luddite victory - I'm a firm believer in the efficacy
of simple machines, and am delighted to score one for the Neanderthals
who like to take things slow and quiet. But I dunno about the
intimidation part, Don - maybe so, but given a choice I like to think
most folks will do the right thing (as long as their reputation is not
at risk). Besides, it gives one such a warm fuzzy feeling to be the
Hero to the Rescue. It was not as dramatic as hearing 'Mayday,
mayday' over the radio, but the rush was there.

You must have felt like a one-man mini-Coast Guard. (-:
I agree about the "simple machines."
I rented a lot of small boats that I'd throw my little 5 hp motor on.
Always checked that the oars and oarlocks were in shape, and refused
and switched a few boats.
I began fishing as a kid rowing, many, many miles, and that's stuck
with me. Never towed anybody though.
Don't think I'd be comfortable with a bigger beamier power boat
without a kicker along. Just how I am.
I've seen some talk about kicker mounts on the Carolina Skiffs.
Don't know much about it, but if I get one I'll look into it.
Always been fascinated by how the gondolas are propelled by one long
oar at the stern, but that's probably not practical for a beamy boat.

--Vic


Look into how the Chinese propel mondo big sampans with a single
sculling oar over the stern - the oars are called yuli. Granted, those
yuli are on the biggish side for larger boats, but there are quite a few
anecdotes of sculling good-sized sailboats - sailboats it would be
impractical to row.