Oars for a Rival 32 !

[mm5aho]

I looked about on Fleabay and similar places for some cheap long oars. For an event in May, (SIPR) it seems advisable to carry oars in case of becoming becalmed.
After not finding and at reasonable price, I decided I'd make some. Here's what I did.

I bought two lengths of 75x50 timber. They didn't have the ash I wanted where I went, so I decided to try Hemlock. I thought Hemlock was a poisonous plant, but it seems it also a fir type of tree, grows to 60m and 2m diameter, mainly in Nth America.
I lopped 2 pieces at 600mm off the end of each, and glued these to the sides of each stick. That gave me a sort of paddle blank.


Next I marked these out for cutting...


And then proceeded to cut out the rough shape.


Then there's a lot of work with plane and spokeshave..


For handles, I smoothed 400mm at the other end into a round shape.




Eventually I ended up with two oars.




Now I've started to sand them and varnish. I'll leave the handles unvarnished.
They're just on 12ft long. I hope I never have to use them!

[wully]

A fine job of work

[marisca]

Your SIPR crew will curse you! With no oars, sitting in zen-like tranquillity on a glassy sea requires no effort and is restorative for the runners. With oars, you will end up straining their sinews to make but little progress - "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". Choose your pivot points carefully!

[mm5aho]

I think we'll let the runners sleep on while we go for a pleasant scull down the sounds, rippling the calm waters, enjoying the moonlight reflected off the glassy sea.
Who knows, could be the pivotal point of the whole trip?

[Fingal]

I'm very disappointed. Surely the blades should be gently curved both along their length and cross- section?
Seriously, well done, they look great. Good luck with the rowing.

[mm5aho]

There's a curve across the backs, and almost flat across the pushing face. NOt easy to see in the pix.

[marisca]

Won't it be difficult feathering the oars with square shafts?

With your ingenuity a version based on this should be nae bother and it would sound like the Waverley!

[mm5aho]

Specially matched square rowlocks!

Like that paddlewheel idea, but how about pedals instead of crankhandles?

[mm5aho]

Test drove the new oars on Saturday. Almost windless in Lochs Long & Goil. One oar about 1 kn. Didn't try two oars at same time.
Rigged rope rowlocks, which enables adjustable height and position. There's hardly room in the cockpit for two rowers though, one might have to be near the bow.

There were more fun to make than to use!

[sahona]

Since you enjoy the shedwork so much and have a restricted cockpit, perhaps it would be worth considering a full sized super-strong scull for over the stern? Very effective on my shipman28. Can't do it on the claymore due to a giant davit-dangler, but would if I could.

[mm5aho]

Looking at the forecast for the next weekend, it looks like rowing might be required.
But I don't fancy a skull bolted on the stern. Its almost offensive to me to have oars on a yacht, even though many years back I was a rower. (1st 8 and 1st coxed 4s in high school). These days I'm fit enough to push the plane to make the oars, but not sure how long I'd last rowing in anger to make a tidal gate in a calm.
But who knows, this weekend might be the time to find out?

I guess Marica will be away heading west by now. Who else from this church is going there? (SIPR)

[marisca]

Marisca borrows a yuloh for SIPR. It pivots on a ball pin and can generate 3kts with great effort, 2kts comfortably. A yuloh is what diminutive asian ladies use to propel overloaded sampans.

SIPR over, 2nd (again!) in class, feeling totally knackered, incredibly proud of the team, especially our 2 lady runners. Why do I do it?

[mm5aho]

Congratulations to all on Marisca.
To have finished at all was an acheivement. I think off 44 entries about 40 starts, about half retired, Contender among them.

We had a poor run Oban to Salen, coming in with only three boats behind us. Our runner picked off about 6 teams in the run, edging us up the ranking, then we passed 6 boats in the sound of Mull, another two before Fladda light, but had arrived too late for the tide. After tacking progressively backward into tide and wind, we anchored up behind Eilean Mhic Chiarain just SE of Fladda and waited for the tide.
Tacked slowly up sound of Luing, then sound of Jura, with everything from F5 to dead calm. Oars used again at one time.
Our runners were concerned that the Paps might be like Ben More, zero viz mist. We moored at Craighouse and waited to re-assess at daybreak, and decided that it was not sensible, so headed home. There were about 7 boats in Craighouse when we left.

Our oars manage 2-3kn, one at bow, one in cockpit; but they're heavy, I need to slim them down for next year!

We rounded the Mull in 1.5m swell and little wind, arriving Rhu 0700 with virtually no wind.

There'll be another year!