Kudzu Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Oh, and I have done a lot of decorative rope work. I have wrapped the wheels of several boats including my Renegade. And I don't care what you say, sewing a @&%#^*@ kayak hurts far more!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 I commonly wrap tillers, but not with twine, but 1/8" single braid line. I once did epoxy saturate it, but found it too hard and a sterile feeling and not very comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy00 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.