Oar talk

Oar talk Feb 24, 2021 5:35:02 GMT

Quote

Post by curt on Feb 24, 2021 5:35:02 GMT

An oar is a very personal thing. What one guy loves another would burn. My grandfather always built his out of Navy lifeboat oars planed them down and steam bent them. They were either oak or ash. The ash was better. Your choices today will probably will not include old navy oars but you still have options.

1. Take a solid piece of 2x6 tight grained ash cut it to shape plane it steam bend it. It can be adjusted later by re steaming if you put too much or too little bend in it

2. Take a rowing oar steam bend it then splice a longer blade to it then plane down the handle. Find a one piece blade not the laminated crap.

3. (What most do) Start with a dowel and laminate a blade to it. This will require fiber glassing the joint and sometimes the entire blade.... it never seems to be as good as a 1 piece oar. This is the least expensive (a closet pole and a clear vertical grain piece of pine redwood ash or even built up fiberglass Start here get what you like then maybe try a 1 piece..

Whatever you do don't ask the question flat side up or flat side down...

P. S. What I like is enough bend to make the oar roll on it's own. Very little wrist turning needed. but someone else might hate that.

C

Post by patrick on Feb 22, 2021 8:32:07 GMT

Post by curt on Feb 24, 2021 5:35:02 GMT