Wooden Tops'l, Rowlocks, Oarlocks and Mirrors

[Michael Rogers]

Decision time - I'm not going for any sort of outboard for Cavatina. A combination of reasons - shortage of funds; dislike of clobber on board; aversion to having to drill 8 mm holes in Cavatina's elegant and subtly  curved transom; the fact that there have been very few occasions (two in three years, to be precise) when having an engine would have made a lot of difference; the undeniable fact that Cavatina is very easy to row - she skims, in fact.

The main reason surprised me. A few weeks ago the wind failed in Poole Harbour, and I had a long row to get back to Studland. And I was up to it and enjoyed it! Not surprising in one sense - in my youth I did 'posh' competitive rowing in fours, eights and sculls: and sea rowing is even more fun.

So I have been looking at this rowing thing. One thing which occurred to me was rowlocks (for sea rowing). Why, I wondered, do they have to be open topped? And googling around, I discovered that in the UK they are invariably open: but in the US (and I believe possibly in New Zealand) people also use 'ring oarlocks' as an option. These, of course, have to stay on the oars when the oars are stowed. Wouldn't be a problem on my boat; saves having to root around in lockers etc, possibly in a hurry, for the other sort; and makes it almost impossible to lose an oar overboard once the oarlock pin is in its socket.

So my questions are - has anyone any experience of ring oar/rowlocks? Apart from the stowage issue, have I overlooked any likely disadvantage of using them? If not, why - so far as I can ascertain - are ring rowlocks unobtainable in this country but relatively freely available as an option in the US? Is this a case of 'we've always done it this way'?

A related question - has anyone tried a forward view mirror, attached either to a hat/cap or to the boat, for reducing the need to stop and look round when rowing? Apparently it's not as easy as it sounds - the brain has some sorting out to do of what one sees and how it relates to steering etc. This was the only downside to my recent rowing experience: I think anno domini stiffness in the lower back didn't help.

The other thing which would be oh-so-nice is a pair of spoon blade oars. Lovely things, but a bit pricey. And my twice-in-three-years engine-need put-down applies also to rowing - I probably won't need them often enough to justify the outlay! I'll confess on the forum if I manage to convince myself otherwise.

[Graham W]

Michael,

On your mirror question, these have been used by Swallows during the rowing parts of Sail Caledonia.  The motivation was to use as much rowing power as possible and leave the rudder untended (and fixed amidships).  On Turaco with three or four rowers, I fixed car caravan-towing mirrors either side so that as the rowing steersman seated on the forward thwart, I could see most of what was going on ahead and react accordingly.  That worked quite well.  I also tried a small mirror fixed to the peak of a baseball cap but that was much less successful as the field of view was quite small and moved about as much as I did.  Gladys had one of those large round double-decker bus staircase mirrors attached to its mizzen mast and I understand that that was excellent as all the rowers could see ahead.

Toplicht in Germany sell your circular enclosed oarlocks (in bronze), possibly sourced from Davey in the UK http://www.toplicht.de/en/shop/decksbeschlaege/rudergabel-dolle/rudergabeln-messing-und-bronze/rudergabeln-rund-bronze

[Michael Rogers]

Thanks, Graham. I get the impression the mirrors on cap brims aren't up to much. But I might try one of those circular convex traffic mirrors clipped onto the coaming between the cockpit and the after deck. It'll depend on whether/where I can stow it and what sort of field of view I get from the rowing position. Experimentation needed.

[Graham W]

Thinking about your oarlock issue a bit more, many standard open oarlocks flare outwards at the top on both sides.  I don't know how secure it would be but you could try tying string across the top to keep the oar in place.  The flares might be big enough to stop the string from slipping off.  Or you could drill small holes or notches on each side of the oarlock that would definitely keep the string in place.

Ugly but effective, oarlocks for carbon oars as used on rowing fours and eights have gates across the top that can be screwed into place.  I have a set for use with my long carbon oars.  When the oars need to be deployed in a hurry, the oarlock gates are left screwed shut on the oars and the oarlock shafts can be dropped into their sockets, ready to row, in seconds.

In a newly-introduced Sail Caledonia race around the cans, boats have to complete a first short circuit under sail, the second time around under oar with the sails properly tidied away and the third circuit back to sailing again, with the oars stowed out of sight.  The race has been designed to test the inner Viking in each crew.  While blond wigs and horned helmets are not obligatory, having the oarlocks already secured to the oars saves a lot of time at the start of each new circuit.

[Michael Rogers]

I'm familiar with rowlocks with screwed-down gates from my rowing days (I seem to remember we called them something else, but can't remember what!). Bearing in mind that I'm not going to row unless I have to (i.e. infrequently), the ring oarlocks seem a neat simple approach, and I remain intrigued that they are apparently very little used in the UK, in contrast to across the pond. Any comments from our US contingent?

Ref. Sail Caledonia, I'm not sure about tapping this 'inner Viking' thing, bearing in mind the pillage and other activities associated (probably wrongly) with that lot. Horned helmets brings a Blackadder reference to mind, about the Viking chief who ordered lots of helmets which arrived with the horns sticking inwards.

[mark1]

Cheap and quite cheerful, a short piece of strap with a hole in it for the rowlock pin.
It works!

[garethrow]

Michael - re your quest for reasonably priced decent oars: I made mine to a design from Swallow Boats (as was then). Drawing attached. You would need to scale yours down a bit for smaller boat. Two tricky bits to the manufacture are:
1. Finding a decent bit of knot free timber with a straightish grain - some searching of timber yards required.
2. Tacking the thin plywood blades in place to give the right spoon shape with a bit of a foil on them as well. I think I borrowed a template from Matt at the time to do this - but its a while ago and I can't really remember! Once you got the ply bits tacked in place then its onto epoxy filleting big time to give them strength.

Regards

Gareth
Gwennol Teifi S17

[Michael Rogers]

Very many thanks, Gareth. I'm intrigued, and will give it a go - a winter project? Back in the fifties I had double ended paddles (bought) for a PBK canoe my Dad and I built, and the blades were ply, very elegantly spooned. It had occurred that it should be possible to do the same for oars, and the drawings you sent are probably spot on for doing that.

Two questions - 1) suggestions as to what kind of wood to use? Robbins Timber in Bristol is quite near here; they would probably advise. In my experience they are a bit pricey, but it'd be worth getting it right for oars. 2) I'm not sure what you mean by 'foil' on the blades. Is that curve from side-to-side as well as end-to end? Is it possible to get a bend in both directions? Is that what the drawing refers to as 'dihedral'? Apologies for my ignorance of the jargon!

Regards

Michael R (Tr12 Cavatina)

[garethrow]

Michael

I made mine from fairly ordinary pine - but searched timber yards to find a good straight knot free piece. The two oars were made from 1 piece of wood - which is cut lengthways down the middle but at a slight diagonal to begin to form the taper each way. I used a chalk line to get the cut marked and then borrowed the use of a bandsaw to make the long cut I think. Shaping the shaft and handles is plane and spokeshave work - very satisfying.

Each blade is made from two pieces of ply but when curved - are not glued onto the shaft perpendicular - but have a slight splay if I remember correctly. This could well be the dihedral of 6.5deg you refer to. Each part of the blade is tacked into place with a rapid set glue using a template to give splay and curve - I think I borrowed the template from Swallow Boats - but it is rather a long time ago and memory fails.

I made mine in the winter - but couldn't varnish them well in the workshop - too cold for 2 pot - so they had to occupy pride of place for a while in the living room - which caused some lively debate! Worth the agro though - I have not had to re varnish in 10 years.

Regards

Gareth

[Matthew P]

Hi Michael

I have a pair of wooden oars you might find useful - please see the personal message I've sent you on this forum for details.

Regards

Matthew