How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

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.

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

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

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

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.

Here are some pics.. There are several pics here of when I made those
oars, along with some other build shots...

http://trip-reports.com/coppermine/t...ls.php?album=6

As to where, your marine center should be able to help you. You might
bring a part of one of your oarlocks or measure the hole, there are
two basic sizes sold at most stores. Don't want to buy the wrong
ones.

If you plan on doing a lot of rowing or are going into any harser
conditions of off shore (you did not tell us what you were doing in
the boat) I would suggest good oars, these guys are among the best I
know of.. Great stuff, choiceof materials, hand made oars..

http://www.shawandtenney.com/index.php

Good luck, Scotty from SmallBoats.com

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

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

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

"BetaB4" wrote in
:

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.



I have these on my 14 foot skiff, and I like them a lot.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...ct.do?pid=4142
&familyName=Gated+Oarlock

or http://tinyurl.com/oroex7

They are remarkably quiet and smooth.

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

On May 11, 2:46*pm, "BetaB4" wrote:
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- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, if you can afford it a nice set of wooden (preferably light
weight spruce) would be nice. Sound, quiet, and very light...

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

"BetaB4" wrote in
:

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.

snip

Light is good, but balanced is better. My preference by far is wood; it
floats, it has great strength for its weight, and is quiet. Also, wooden
oars have a tapered shaft, improving the balance. I made some 9 foot oars
over the winter; the balance point is about a foot and a half outboard of
the oarlock, and at under 4 pounds each they are real easy to use. When
you go to buy oars, check where the balance point is - the farther away
from the oarlock, the harder you have to work on the recovery part of the
stroke. Here's another point - traditional oars have fairly narrow blades
- 4 or 5 inches tops. The wider the blade, the harder it is to pull
through the water and the greater the air resistance on the recovery. If
you're going to row a racing shell 1000 meters, then big fat blades are
great. If you're going to row a skiff several miles against even a fresh
breeze, big blades are gonna kill you. The narrow blade traditional oar
evolved to suit normal guys rowing all day in all weathers (think coastal
fishermen or Grand Banks dories). So if you are depending on the oars to
get you home when the motors go belly-up, think long, balanced, narrow
blades. Remember you may have to row several miles.

Another point - on some fine, calm, sunny day it might be a good idea just
to go for a row for a couple of miles, so you know what problems may arise
and have some experience before it becomes critical. If your buddies give
you grief, throw a lure over the side and troll...

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

Jim Willemin wrote:

Light is good, but balanced is better. My preference by far is wood;
it floats, it has great strength for its weight, and is quiet. Also,
wooden oars have a tapered shaft, improving the balance. I made some
9 foot oars over the winter; the balance point is about a foot and a
half outboard of the oarlock, and at under 4 pounds each they are
real easy to use. When you go to buy oars, check where the balance
point is - the farther away from the oarlock, the harder you have to
work on the recovery part of the stroke. Here's another point -
traditional oars have fairly narrow blades - 4 or 5 inches tops. The
wider the blade, the harder it is to pull through the water and the
greater the air resistance on the recovery. If you're going to row a
racing shell 1000 meters, then big fat blades are great. If you're
going to row a skiff several miles against even a fresh breeze, big
blades are gonna kill you. The narrow blade traditional oar evolved
to suit normal guys rowing all day in all weathers (think coastal
fishermen or Grand Banks dories). So if you are depending on the
oars to get you home when the motors go belly-up, think long,
balanced, narrow blades. Remember you may have to row several miles.

Another point - on some fine, calm, sunny day it might be a good idea
just to go for a row for a couple of miles, so you know what problems
may arise and have some experience before it becomes critical. If
your buddies give you grief, throw a lure over the side and troll...

Thanks. I'll check out wooden oars. I'll do as you suggested and be
thinking long, balanced, narrow blade oars.

How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks
 

Thanks again.

I finally measured and my boat is 60 inches across at the oarlocks, so I'll
do the calculations to figure out the best oar size.


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