oar length for skiff?

[dmede]

What would be the correct oar length for my 14' skiff? The beam is 4'6" and sits relatively low to the water. Main propulsion is outboard but I want to have full size wood oars aboard for emergency use and to poke into shallow weedy areas the motor wont go.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2711082108_7a0731eced.jpg

[Bob Smalser]

8' 6"

http://www.shawandtenney.com/wooden-rowing-oars.htm

[Thorne]

What Bob said. Make 'em from spruce -- I noticed a **huge difference** between rowing long distances with commercial 7' pine oars and my home-made 8' spruce oars.

Not only are spruce oars lighter, but the springback or flex when you row is wonderful. I like Pete Culler's basic pattern.

I ended up putting a bead of epoxy and cabosil filler on the bottom and lower edges of the blades to protect 'em, as rowing in sandy/gravelly shallows was chewing up the spruce. For the rest of the oar (except the handles which are left raw wood), I used CPES and varnish.

[dmede]

Ok, thanks guys.

Those Shaw and Tenny oars are nice, but priced a bit out of my range. I found Berkley Sound Oars at Fisheries in Seattle for an ok price so I may go with them instead.

[David G]

Keep in mind that there are a lot of opinions and various formulas out there. In my experience, Shaw & Tenney's formula results in the longest oars prescription. I have no idea whether that's a function of philosophy or marketing (or both). Low freeboard at the rowing station isn't calculated into most formulas, but - in practice - also allows you to shorten the length. My first thought was 8 footers for your boat... but longer is nice in a lot of ways too. There are only two drawbacks (beyond expense) to longer oars and they both involve being unwieldy: First - shorter is easier to stow aboard, you might look at your boat and figure where and how they'll stow under various circumstances; Second - longer oars make it harder to jockey around tight moorages or small waters. If you do mostly open-water rowing, that's not an issue.

If neither of those is an issue for you, I'd go with the 8'6", because, as Thorne says, longer is definitely sweeter in many ways.


"When I told the people of Northern Ireland that I was an atheist, a woman in the audience stood up and said, 'Yes, but is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don't believe?'" - Quentin Crisp

[Bob Smalser]

Ok, thanks guys.

Those Shaw and Tenny oars are nice, but priced a bit out of my range. I found Berkley Sound Oars at Fisheries in Seattle for an ok price so I may go with them instead.

Two cherry-picked DF 2X6's, a few hours with the hand plane, and you're in business. If you get the loom's VG side on top in DF then it can be 6/4 thick instead of 8/4. Or buy 8/4 Basswood, which is cheap and vastly under rated as oar stock. Either way, storebought was the last thing on my mind for you to do and par-grade Sitka wil cost as much as store-bought.

I forgot to mention the S&T formula provides an oar long enuf inboard for your thumbs to touch until you get the hang of it. You can row crossarm or slightly out of sequence, but the extra length makes a positive difference rowing and is well worth it.

[Tom Hunter]

I was thinking 8'6" before seeing Bob's post.

Personally I find shaw and tenny suggest oars that are a bit too short, I usually add 6" . But I do think that 8'6" will get you to the maximum comfortable boat speed without working you too hard.

[dmede]

I know the MO around here is to make your own, but the prices at Fisheries and Fancy Oars are pretty good. I need the oars in two weeks and I'm just not that fast a worker.

I did try the make your own way once with my double paddle canoe and was just plain bored and frustrated with the work. For now I'll leave the oar making to guys who know what they are doing and can turn out a sweet product for a decent price, I don't mind supporting their habit.

FYI, I am now looking at oars from these guys:
http://www.fancyoars-paddles.com/

[Thorne]

What's the total with shipping? I work right by MacBeath Hardwoods in Emeryville, and can check to see it they've got any spruce long enough, if you'd like.

I found a 8/4 9" wide spruce plank to make my oars from without any gluing which vastly simplified the whole process, even if the grain might not be in the perfect orientation. Or as Bob says, other wood like DF or Basswood might be cheaper or available in the correct dimensions.
http://www.luckhardt.com/oarplank2.jpghttp://www.luckhardt.com/oarplank7.jpg

My Not-So-E-vil-Twin David G in Portland (boy this place is crawlin' with Davids!) has a very good point -- what length can be stowed under the thwarts?

Even though I made my sternsheets with a deep recessed curve in the middle, I can only get 8'1" length oars and spars on my floorboards -- anything longer has to stay on the gunwales or rattle around on top of the thwarts.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

There is also a priviso about calculated oar length that says round up to the next higher half foot for performance rowing and round down for casual rowing.

[dmede]

What's the total with shipping?

From Fancy Oars its $130 varnished and shipped ($180 if I have him do the leathers). I haven't heard back from him yet so don't know what he has on hand. I need to remeasure the length against the boat, but I think I need to go with 8' oars.

[dmede]

I cut a stick to 8' and lay it in my skiff which told me one thing, my boat is small :D

Since these are auxiliary only, I m ay even go 7'6". It's hard to see from the pics but the oars are going to cut into the floor space a bit.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2729323353_56012b04a2.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2730155246_59dc90b5d4.jpg

[Thorne]

Try it with the thwarts in place -- that is the real test. See if you can angle them into place without whanging into the aft thwart/sternsheet, the motor in place on the transom, or whatever else is in the boat on your average trip.

You'll be surprised at how rapidly oars sometimes need to be brought into operation -- so any additional steps (like removing a thwart in a bouncy seaway) can be undesirable. They also come in handy as boathooks, for fending off other boats, etc.

And in my experience, outboards rarely go south in perfect conditions 10 yards from the dock. They usually pack it in when you are 10 miles from the ramp, facing a lee shore of riprap and 20 knot winds...

You can buy those clever little plastic clip holders that would hold them up underneath the thwarts, or make leather straps and snaps/buttons/toggles to do the same -- so they don't have to sit on the floorboards unless desired.

[dmede]

or make leather straps and snaps/buttons/toggles to do the same -- so they don't have to sit on the floorboards unless desired.

Exactly what I am doing. Oiled the leather today, need to find the button snaps for less than $20 per 6 (west marine price :rolleyes: ). Fisheries has them pretty cheap.

I'd like these to be as out of the was as possible. I'm already losing floor space to the fuel tank I need for the outboard. Having to pull a thwart to get them out is not ideal but way better than not having them at all. I guess I won't really know what I want to do until I get the oars here.

[Bob Smalser]

You have gobs of room for oar storage and more. A few sf of leather and those SS snap kits from Fisheries Supply make stowage solutions easy. Vegetable-tanned tooling leather from eBay treated with neats-foot/pine oil boot solutions is basically the same thing as latigo leather.

Frankly, oar making is such an easy exercise you can try several sizes. But I guarantee in your neck of the woods you'll be less happy with 8's and shorter than 8' six inchers.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/7081299/99960843.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/7711190/101677471.jpg

[TimT]

On the general subject....


I like Pete Culler's basic pattern.

Where might one find Pete Culler's pattern?
Anyone have an opinion on the Glen-L oar plans?
Any other free or cheap plans you can suggest?

I'm starting to think about the oars I'll make this fall/winter.

As a complete newbie in the world of rowing (but an experienced paddler) what difference might I expect between spruce and Douglas Fir? Solid or hollow shaft?

thanks.

[peterAustralia]

7ft 9 inches

[Steve Lansdowne]

Having bought expensive but too short oars the first time, I suggest that either you do a mock up of the oar length you're considering (closet rod and a piece of plywood for the blade, for example) and try these out or order longer oars than you may need (if you're at all unsure), which you can later shorten if needed.

[ToddFwbf]

Doesn't Pete Culler mention balancing the oar so that the balance point is in board of the oar lock? He did that by leaving the inboard end relatively heavy and square in section. Seems like something to bear in mind if you make your own.

[LarryR]

Bob,

That's a nice looking outfit -- do you have a picture of her under sail?

Very respectfully,
Larry