Jump to content

You think sewing makes your hand sore?


Kudzu

Recommended Posts

Try wrapping an oar with twine! Sewing doesn't bother me much but man my hands are sore today from this!

Traditionally oars are wrapped with leather but doing some reading I discovered sometimes they are wrapped with twine and then varnished. Seeing as I have varnish and not leather I decided to try it.

wrapped%20oar.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I have never tried that Jeff, but I would consider saturating the "leather" (name given to the chafe gear on the loom of an oar because of what it is commonly made of) with epoxy as it would likely stand up longer. You could varnish over it during the varnish phase. Looks pretty.

Have you tried balancing your oars at what will be the fulcrum?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried balancing your oars at what will be the fulcrum?

Yup and they are blade heavy but not real bad (I don't think). I think I will just use them before I make any decisions about altering. If needed I was thinking add lead to the handle end.

MIGHT get it it where I can take it out in the yard today. That would make it easy to see what I have and if there are any glaring problems. Like the oars bad out of balance or the outriggers flex to much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't epoxy anything that was a grip either Paul. The wheels I did were done with 1/8" braid as well, and not coated at all. The twine is chafe gear on Jeff's oars, in lieu of leather. Like the rope leading edges on centerboards I figure epoxy would make it more resilient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

A couple of thoughts on oars... As far as balance, oars should be a least a little blade heavy. Otherwise, you're holding your hands up on the recovery rather than resting them against the outboard weight of the oars. Jeff, you're right in trying them out and seeing how they feel.

The degree of friction between leathers and rowlocks is important. It turns out that leathers well anointed with tallow provide just the right amount of friction. Too little friction and the oars slide around in the rowlocks too much and your hands get tired trying to control them. Too much friction and the oars are difficult to feather or adjust inboard or outboard. So, if you use a material other than leather, you might have to experiment a bid to get the surface texture right. I think that you would have to be careful using epoxy, as that might be too slippery.

Fair winds, Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

Supporting Members

Supporting Members can create Clubs, photo Galleries, don't see ads and make messing-about.com possible! Become a Supporting Member - only $12 for the next year. Pay by PayPal or credit card.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.