Oarlock questions
 

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
7.131...

Frankly, I'd go with the Fancy oars. The ones on eBay look a little
unbalanced for that length, the handles are varnished (good for working
up nice blisters, getting sticky, and generally less desireable than
straight mineral oil), and I prefer tapered handles to the barrel
handles. Further, I'm not sure I'd trust 1 1/2 inch looms not to break
at an inconvenient time. The Fancy oars are tapered, which gives you
strength where you need it, near the oarlock, and helps the balance on
those long oars. You would have to get oarlocks to fit, but I bet the
folks at Fancy could advise you on that. As to varnishing: if you do
it yourself, figure four to six coats of a good spar varnish; each coat
will take a day or two to dry to the point where you can sand it and
apply the next coat. So to varnish them yourself, you'd need to get a
quart of good spar varnish (ten bucks?), some paint thinner or mineral
spirits (three bucks), and a good brush (ten bucks). Then there is your
time varnishing and sanding. Sounds to me like USD 16 is a good deal,
and I'm sure that if you asked them about varnishing the handles or not
you would get good advice.

Thanks again for your thoughts on all of this.

I just got an email back from Fancy oars. $100 (U.S.) for unvarnished, $l16
(U.S.) for varnished -- both prices include shipping. They said that if I
decide to use leathers or sleeves, I would definitely need to use #1 (2 1/4"
I.D.) round oarlocks -- makes sense to me.

They look like good oars to me, and definitely better than the ones on eBay.

But, the bad news is that they wrote that the estimated time for them to
complete making my oars would be 2 months from the date that they receive my
payment. So, I wouldn't get them until the end of this summer.

Earlier today, I returned the 6 1/2 foot oars that I bought 2 weeks ago.
Now I have no oars. So, waiting until the end of this summer to get oars
won't work for me. :-(

Oarlock questions
 

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
7.131...

AND furthermo at over 5 inches blade width, the Ebay oars will prove
very tiring for a long pull... just sayin, y'know.

The Fancy oars have a 5 1/4 inch blade. The eBay oars have a 5 inch blade.

The http://ShawAndTenney.com website says,
"Our flat blade oars are available in lengths from 4'-6" to 21' in 6"
increments. The standard flat blade is 5-1/2" wide and the blade length
varies in proportion to the oar length."

"Our narrow blade measures 4-5/8" wide. We recommend this blade for oars
longer than 8' to reduce outboard weight. For those who prefer its classic
appearance, this blade style is also available on shorter oars."

Oarlock questions
 

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:41:59 -0400, "BetaB4"
wrote:



Earlier today, I returned the 6 1/2 foot oars that I bought 2 weeks ago.
Now I have no oars. So, waiting until the end of this summer to get oars
won't work for me. :-(

Not sure where you live, but if needed oars fast I'd go to place that
rents boats and get some oars there. They're always ordering oars.
As long as you can get oars long enough, and they're only for when the
motor konks outs, I wouldn't be particular, even if they're used.
They might have the oarlocks already attached. Always drilled through
the oar type where I've rented boats.
Then all you need is sockets. Might get them at the boat rental place
too.
Don't let getting "the right oar" keep you off the water.

--Vic

Oarlock questions
 

Thanks. I checked out their website before (I think you may have given me
the web address). The oars they are selling are double the cost of oars a
marine supply stores and triple the cost of the oars I checked out at Fancy
Oars and on eBay. I only have a 13-foot aluminum fishing boat, so it
wouldn't make sense for me to spend $330 on a set of oars.

"JustWaitAFrekinMinute!" wrote in message
...

Yeah, but their oars look like they were not finished.. square edges,
ugly in my opinon...

Try these guys, they have been doing it by hand forever...

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

I have ordered their oars in the past, beautiful..

Look at a nice pair of spruce oars and like you said, round oarlocks,
sleeves, buttons...

Oarlock questions
 

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

Not sure where you live, but if needed oars fast I'd go to place that
rents boats and get some oars there. They're always ordering oars.
As long as you can get oars long enough, and they're only for when the
motor konks outs, I wouldn't be particular, even if they're used.
They might have the oarlocks already attached. Always drilled through
the oar type where I've rented boats.
Then all you need is sockets. Might get them at the boat rental place
too.
Don't let getting "the right oar" keep you off the water.


Good idea. I'll check that out. Maybe they'll either have used oars for
sale or they will know someone who does. I have also been checking out
Craig's List etc. Used oars, new oars, it doesn't matter to me.

Oarlock questions
 

On Jun 24, 8:56*pm, "BetaB4" wrote:
Thanks. *I checked out their website before (I think you may have given me
the web address). * The oars they are selling are double the cost of oars a
marine supply stores and triple the cost of the oars I checked out at Fancy
Oars and on eBay. *I only have a 13-foot aluminum fishing boat, so it
wouldn't make sense for me to spend $330 on a set of oars.

"JustWaitAFrekinMinute!" wrote in message

...

Yeah, but their oars look like they were not finished.. square edges,
ugly in my opinon...

Try these guys, they have been doing it by hand forever...

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

I have ordered their oars in the past, beautiful..

Look at a nice pair of spruce oars and like you said, round oarlocks,
sleeves, buttons...

Sounds good enough for me.. Yeah, S+T oars are expensive... Either
way, look for tapered oars and the hardware you seem to already be
sold on... You will do fine. How long are the oard you ordered?

Oarlock questions
 

JustWaitAFrekinMinute! wrote:

Sounds good enough for me.. Yeah, S+T oars are expensive... Either
way, look for tapered oars and the hardware you seem to already be
sold on... You will do fine. How long are the oard you ordered?

The oars that I originally bought by mistake were 6 1/2 feet long (Caviness
Basswood BW65). I bought them about two weeks ago, and returned them
yesterday. I have a 13-foot aluminum fishing boat with a 60 inch span
between the oarlocks.

The oars that I have been checking out and pricing at S&T, Fancy Oars, eBay
etc. are 9 feet, but I didn't place any order yet.

Oarlock questions
 

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:14:13 -0500, Jim Willemin
wrote:

the handles are varnished (good for working
up nice blisters, getting sticky, and generally less desireable than
straight mineral oil),

Yes of course. Mineral oil never drys and destroys wood, but it is
just what you want. Don't even consider boiled linseed oil, as that
stuff will dry hard, and protect the wood.

Casady

Oarlock questions
 

On Jun 25, 10:16*am, "BetaB4" wrote:
JustWaitAFrekinMinute! wrote:

Sounds good enough for me.. Yeah, S+T oars are expensive... *Either
way, look for tapered oars and the hardware you seem to already be
sold on... You will do fine. How long are the oard you ordered?

The oars that I originally bought by mistake were 6 1/2 feet long (Caviness
Basswood BW65). *I bought them about two weeks ago, and returned them
yesterday. *I have a 13-foot aluminum fishing boat with a 60 inch span
between the oarlocks.

The oars that I have been checking out and pricing at S&T, Fancy Oars, eBay
etc. are 9 feet, but I didn't place any order yet.

9 feet works out about right. You may actually enjoy rowing the boat,
a good setup can be very relaxing actually. If the entry edges are to
square or "hard" it can lead to shoulder fatugue or even injury. That
is what I noticed about the oars you linked to. Of course if you are
buying them unfinished you could always round the entry a bit before
you apply your finish. Just don't take too much away from the paddle
area. Even a small 1" to 1 1/2" radius will make a huge difference in
the "hit" when the oars enter the stroke.. Of course if you are only
using them in an emergency it shouldn't make much difference. Either
way, the right size oars may have you rowing more often than you
expected...

Good luck, Scotty

Oarlock questions
 

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 9:51:56 AM UTC-4, BetaB4 wrote:
I had previously posted a question about buying oars and oarlocks
(05/11/2009 -- "How/Where to buy Oars and Oarlocks"). I just bought a set
of wooden oars, and now I have to decide on what type of oarlocks to get.
The oars that I bought are new Caviness basswood 6 1/2 foot wooden oars, for
$63 for the pair. (Unfortunately, I bought the wrong size oars according to
what people here recommended -- see below about why I did that).

My question now is what type of oarlocks to get. My boat is a 13-foot
aluminum fishing boat with a gas engine and an electric motor. It already
has oarlock holders mounted in place. And, since I now have the oars and
the oarlock holders, I just need to get the oarlocks. The purpose for
getting the oars is really just for safety reasons in case the battery dies
or the electric motor breaks down while out in waters where only an electric
motor is allowed. So, if I get stuck, I want to be able to row the boat to
shore or to a docking area.

The kinds of oarlocks that I see a 1) oarlocks that appear to clamp right
onto the oars; 2) round oarlocks that the oars go through; and, 3) U-shaped
open oarlocks with or without a bar that goes across the top. I also see
"oar protector" sleeves (or whatever they are called) that I can buy to go
over the oars, and I guess protect the oars from wear and damage from
rubbing against the oarlocks. Seems like the oar protector sleeves might be
a good idea for two of the oarlock types, and would not be necessary for the
type of oarlocks that clamp directly to the oars.

Any suggestions on which type of oarlocks I should get, and whether or not
to get the oar protector sleeves?

(NOTE: About why I bought the wrong size oars --- I was in a boat supply
store and I didn't have or remember the formula for calculating the correct
size oars to get. I figured I could ask the "experts" at the store, but
they said they never heard of any formula and "just get whatever feels right
to you" -- duh. I have a 13-foot aluminum fishing boat and the span across
between the oarlock holders is 60-inches. The only oars that the store had
were the pair of 6 1/2 foot Caviness basswood oars that I bought for $63,
and a pair of 7-foot Caviness basswood oars for $119. So, I bought the pair
for $63. Since then, I went to another boat supply store (West Marine) and
the biggest they had were two unmatched 8-foot Caviness basswood wooden oars
with different size paddle ends for about $77 each. I think that ideally I
should have bought about 8 1/2 foot wooden oars, but the bottom line is
that I now have the two 6 1/2 foot wooden oars that I bought for $63 for the
pair.)