Best finish on wooden oar handles?

[MarkDarley]

I am preparing two new sets of 11ft wooden oars for the Sail Caledonia Raid.

A question for those of you who row a lot (I dont!):

What is the preferred finish on a wooden oar to make it easier on the hands and minimize blisters?
Raw wood? Oiled wood? Varnished wood? Other?

Thanks
Mark

[Graham W]

Mark,

Definitely raw wood - you need to be able to get a firm grip on the handles without them slipping around.  Even some of the ££££ carbon oars have raw wood handles.  Tight-fitting fingerless cycling gloves give reasonable protection and if they fail, Compeed plasters are good for healing blisters.

[MarkDarley]

Graham, why are cyling gloves better than fingerless sailing gloves for rowing?

[Graham W]

The cycling gloves that I have are quite elasticated and give a snug fit, for gripping handlebars.  Fingerless sailing gloves that I’ve owned are looser and designed for sailing, not gripping oars.  So the material shifts about on your hands, which can be bad news.  I’ll bet that cycling gloves are cheaper too.

I can’t remember which SailCal year it was when there was no wind and we had to row the length of Loch Ness and most of the way back but I didn’t get blisters.  And before you say anything, I did more than my fair share of rowing!

[Ged]

I bought some knackered carbon oars from a rowing club, fixed the blades and extended the handles ready for Scotland.  They came with rubber grips so I kept them.  We rowed a few miles with them the other day and our hands were fine, so my vote is for rubber