Thanks. I'll do the measurements and see what the calsulations suggest.

I am also trying to figure out what kind of oars to get. I see wooden oars,
aluminum oars, synthetic oars...., and I don't know if it matters what I
pick. Since the aluminum boat has a gas and an electric motor, the oars are
really just in case the motor dies as a back up way to get to shore or back
to the launch ramp.

wrote:
On May 11, 10:45 am, "BetaB4" wrote:
I am a newbie when it comes to boating and I have a 13-foot aluminum
boat with a 9.9 HP gas motor and a 12-volt electric motor. I bought
the boat about a year ago and have only used it a few times so far
using the electric motor.

I am about to buy oars and oarlocks. The boat already has oarlock
sockets.

Any thoughts or suggestions about what to buy, where to buy them,
etc. would be appreciated. There are a few boating supply stores
(such as West Marine) in my area, so I'll probably start there.

Do not skimp on the lifejackets. Get good jackets that are comfy to
wear, and they won't give you so much problems about it.
Rule 1:
Don't get dead! (borrowed from a kayak group)
Get good jackets, use them...

On oars, here again, don't skimp, get the right size oars, you will be
glad you did.

Measure across the beam at the oarlocks and use the following as a
base to size your oars.

I will give an example from my 16 foot skiff.

Beam = 78 inches
78" divided by 2 = 39
39 plus 2 = 41 (41" is where you will want your oarlocks to be from
the end of the handle if attached to the oars or if you are using a
sleeve.)
41 divided by 7 = 5.86
5.86 times 23 = 134.8 (this is the total length of oar you should use
to easily and safely row your boat)

So, if your boat is 6 1/2 feet wide you would use an 11.25 foot oar
and put your locks 41" up the shaft from the end of the oar.
NOTE: 11 foot oars are not easy to find or cheap.. I will admit to
having made 10.5 foot oars and they do the job for the protected water
we boat in...

Good luck, and remember Rule 1 !!

Scotty from SmallBoats.com

Scotty from Smallboats.com