Garry Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I found a source for quality oars on the opposite side of the continent in British Columbia. http://www.barkleysoundoar.com/ Barkley Sound Oar and Paddle Ltd makes oars out of sitka spruce at a very reasonable price. I just ordered a pair of 7'6" oars for $71 plus oarlocks, sockets, and plastic sleeves. The shipping was only $30. I looked at some discount prices that were less but they did not specify what kind of wood was used. Comparable quality oars were much higher elsewhere. I thought about making them myself, but with the dificulty in getting good material plus my current work schedule, I figured I would let a few hours of OT pay for them. I asked about getting him to send me a piece of srpuce for the boom but it was nixed because of border complications. I'll let you know what they look like as soon as I get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Day Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 On our way out to Wyoming for the ski trip a couple of weeks ago we made our annual pilgrimage to Cabela's "home" store in Sydney, NE. I was looking around in the boating section and came upon a set of 7' oars for $25.00 each. That is just about half of what I was pricing them for at Boat US and West Marine. Needless to say, I snapped them up in a second or two. Having those in the back of the pickup on a ski trip elicited a few comments about my sanity, but what the heck. 8) At least I didn't have to pay for shipping. Now I have a couple of oar blanks epoxied together in the back of the hangar. I think I might finish them later, but for now they will remain as is. Got the oarlocks and sockets from West Marine. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 For builders who want inexpensive oars and don't want to to take on a major project, here is an idea that I worked out when Tom Lathrop and I competed in in the Sika Challenge boat building contest. We had about 10 minutes to build a pair of oars. While they were rough by yacht standards, they had to function properly because there was a rowing race as part of the competition. Our oars were easily the best and it showed by winning the rowing race. The shafts were made from ripping a 2 x 4 down the middle and 3/8" slots ripped for the 6" wide ply blades. I had the fence settings memorized for the table saw and quickly did the ripping. Some taper was planed with an electric planer and the corners were were rounded with a 1/2" round over bit in the router. Tom was busy cutting out the plywood parts and when the blades were cut, he threw them over to me. I slipped the blades into the slots and drove in 6 ring nails per oar and they were finished. I remember Tom saying to me after we had finished the hull, "we still had to make the oars". I was able to smile and say "they're done". In the pics below John Burritt made an upscale set of the same oars using epoxy and finished them off nicely. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lathrop Posted March 27, 2004 Report Share Posted March 27, 2004 I managed to get rid of that awful Bolger Teal in a charity auction but still have the oars which get used now and again. By the way, Graham and I finished the boat in 2 hours and 18 minutes which was slower than some others. Anybody have a good safe method for removing Sikaflex from a mustache. I never learned not to store ring nails in my mouth when my fingers were coated with Sika. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dunn Posted March 29, 2004 Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 I bought 9' spruce spoon blade oars for my CS 20 from Island Oars: http://www.lucidstyle.com/islandoars/index.html Good oars, good service. I think they are located very close to Barkley Sound Oars on Vancouver Island. Not that it matters when the oars are shipped 1500 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Posted April 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 I got the oars from Barkley Sound and they look great! The bronze oarlocks also look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 I made some quick oars based on Graham's method above. I used 1x6 boards planned down some for the blades instead of plywood; I should have taken a little more off they're a little heavy. They didn't take too long but not nearly as quick as the Grahams. I just realized when I looked at Graham's post again that I forgot about the round over on the ends. Oh well, rowing trial tomorrow. Cheers, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 I managed to get rid of that awful Bolger Teal in a charity auction but still have the oars which get used now and again. By the way' date=' Graham and I finished the boat in 2 hours and 18 minutes which was slower than some others. Anybody have a good safe method for removing Sikaflex from a mustache. I never learned not to store ring nails in my mouth when my fingers were coated with Sika. [/quote']Just curious: what/why do you say that about the Teal? Oh, and what is Sika? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 Which brings us to another question. Which is best....open horned oarlocks or the closed kind left on the oars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 I managed to get rid of that awful Bolger Teal in a charity auction but still have the oars which get used now and again. By the way' date=' Graham and I finished the boat in 2 hours and 18 minutes which was slower than some others. Anybody have a good safe method for removing Sikaflex from a mustache. I never learned not to store ring nails in my mouth when my fingers were coated with Sika. [/quote']Just curious: what/why do you say that about the Teal? Oh, and what is Sika? Thanks. Paintable, flexible, and dries in a reasonable time. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/ak/Caulking/Sikaflex/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Neuman Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 I like those oar ideas. Graham, how long is the blade part? Looks like about 1.5 - 2 feet from the picture, but it's hard to tell exactly. And what plywood thickness did you use? I would guess 1/2", or maybe 3/8". Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 I think that the oars with the green blades were made with 3/8" ply. On my 9' oars I made curved blades and they were not slotted into the shafts. The blades were made from 2 layers of 4mm ply (3/16") laminated into a curved shape. Because they were not slotted into the shafts they were a bit too flimsy so I reinforced them with glass. They were 6" wide and 24" long but I think that I would make them 5" or 5 1/2" wide next time. There is a picture of these oars on an earlier post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Neuman Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Here is the thread with the oars, I think: Advice on oar placement and purchase for CS 17 And here is a direct link to the picture of the oars: http://www.messing-about.com/forum/download.php?id=2250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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