Oars and Rowing

**CCBB** · 7th December 2009, 09:12 AM

Hi all here is some material from my latest blog post (wow it pastes right in...so much easier than the WBF. My blog address is Current Projects at Clint Chase Boatbuilder

There is some interesting parallels between oars and spars in the flexibility is good in both but for different physical reasons. Enjoy and thanks.

Oars are a delight to make and we are trying to make something new for the market. A prototype for a Carbon Fiber blade-Spruce oar has been completed for a customer here in Portland to be use for his new sculling boat, an Annapolis Wherry, being built by him from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit.

The main prototype effort here were the blades, an infused laminate of carbon fiber with a light core material in the middle.

The core adds stiffness with negligible additional weight. Infusion is incredibly tricky to get right and much time was spent in making it work to make a perfect blade.

The looms are Sitka Spruce for these oars (and can be done in native Northern White Spruce) and they are specially designed such that they counterbalance perfectly with the carbon blades. The blades will lay on the top of the water and without any pressure from the hands.

This balance means less fatigue for the rower, a better feel, and greater speed because the rowers kinetic energy is not wasted in moving a blade-heavy oar forward and backwards as the blade exits at the release and enters at the catch. Another design element to Clint's oars is in their flexibility. Oars should flex a little, especially in fixed seat boat, but also in sliding seat boats (the amount will differ depending on the rower). The faster the boat goes and the faster the rower wants to go, the stiffer they may want their oar to be made. But for recreational sculling and pleasure rowing in fixed seat boats, you want an oar with an amount of flexibility. It means less fatigue, a gentler stroke at the beginning and end, and better endurance for the rower. How much flex is very subjective and based on experience on the water as well as intuition. When Clint makes oars, you'll often see him shaping the loom then taking it to the floor and springing it. Then the shaping continues based on the feedback from the wood.

Every board, each species, and different length oars will all feel different. What is 'right' is based on our customers' needs, rowing style, their goals, the waters and conditions the rower is in most of the time, and of course it depends on the boat itself.

You'll notice that the oar blades are quite different between these two oars.

The blade area and the shape are key factors in how much "Slip" the oar has in the water. Slip is a term for how much 'grab' the blade has on the water, how much water the blade holds. Thus, a large, wide blade slips less in the water and can potentially produce more drive for the boat. There are other factors of course. But for the sake of this post, looking at these two different oars, the spruce spoon blade oars are specifically made for open water conditions where feathering is not completely necessary. The carbon blades will need to be feathered especially when the water is choppy. The blade area is also more outboard making these more efficient oars for flat water conditions or when there is a slight chop, for feathering. Other differences between these oars are in the oar 'leathers'.

The carbon blade oars have a plastic sleeve that makes feathering easy. The all spruce oars have traditionally stitched leathers with a custom 'button' that we produce on a lathe with nylon.

The split buttons are seized to the leathers with nylon twine and epoxy (and elbow grease). Another big difference between these oars are the upper looms. We laminated spanish cedar to the upper looms of the carbon blade oars to help counterweight the oars and make the looms a little more durable (and it looks snazzy!). The result is very nice and no lead counterweights were needed in the handle. The oars are sensationally light for 9'6" sculls.

I will update the post when I have a proper scale to take weights. The spruce spoons are counterweighted with 2lbs of lead (see lead insert sticking out of handle, boring hole for other insert).

The balance point for both oars is just below the leathers and the result is a very comfortable oar on the water that is effortless to bring through the stroke cycle, from recovery to catch, the blades have little perceptible weight to them. Careful varnishing follows construction. We use a fabulous product called Le Tonkinois, a linseed varnish that makes a durable finish that is very easy and pleasurable to maintain.

A parting shot shows what makes me as excited about this new kind of oar as much as the performance benefits it is the aesthetics that make them special. The contrast of Spruce wood and Carbon Fiber to me represents the yin and yang of oarmaking -- balance. We are trying to make rowing more fun with balanced, high-quality, beautiful oars made with passion.

**m2c1Iw** · 7th December 2009, 01:13 PM

Cool they look fantastic Clint, both styles. Dumb question the spruce oar looks to be shaped from a single board is that correct ie no laminations.

Interesting the use of lead in the handles is that a usual thing or something you have developed for balancing.

Cheers
Mike

**woodeneye** · 7th December 2009, 02:26 PM

Those oars are fully SICK....

**CCBB** · 7th December 2009, 02:26 PM

Mike, the spruce oar is almost wholly from a 2x6, but I add laminations to get the upper loom diameter needed for a balanced oar. The spoon is from the same piece of wood, the 2x6, roughed on the bandsaw and finished with spokeshave and compass plane.

The lead in handles I discovered at Mystic. They are a pair of Culler oars I was using. Changed my life! The oars were heavy, because of the lead, but when on the gunwale the oar weight is mostly taken away and it becomes more about oar balance. My goal with the carbon is not to have to use any lead. This is key for more performance oriented rowing.

--Clint

**Joost** · 7th December 2009, 08:39 PM

I agree, very nice oars indeed, both the carbon one (from a technical point of view) as the spruce ones (esthetically very appealing).

Joost

**Boatmik** · 8th December 2009, 11:12 AM

Clint has a very interesting definition of "going rowing". Can you find a map of the area Clint?

It is REALLY cool.

MIK

**CCBB** · 8th December 2009, 12:36 PM

Yes, my kind of row can be seen here in Casco Bay

casco bay maine - Google Maps

The Portland penninsula, in the left third of the map, has an East End where I launch from most of the time. One of my favorite rows is to head SE under Peaks Island and then due East to the tiny blips on the map above the dashed line for the ferry. Those are the outer greens, exposed, rocky, uninhabited and totally unsafe to land on. So I row north-northeast leave them to my left and come up along wooded and protected Jewell Island just under Cliff Island which is labeled. I'll keep heading by Cliff to two tiny narrow islands to the upper right of CLiff and I'll circle behind those and head back home through Chandler's Cove in the upper-right third and row inland of the big islands where it gets very nice and protected. If I am feeling like a leisurely row I will stop at a mooring for a nap on the floorboards (key design element of Drake, the thwarts slide out and I can lay my 6'6" body stretched out and have the nap of a lifetime). If I feel good I usually keep going, and stop for a rest at a beach for a snack. The rest of the way to East End is lovely because I am feeling good after nap/snack and usually a little bummed that the row is over. This is about a 19 mile row.

My other favorite is up Portland Harbor into the Fore River, this is the waterway that is under Portland and proceeds around Portland to the west becoming an idyllic tidal river.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=casco+...,0.154324&z=13

We can just barely get under the bridge with our oar span where Rt 22 crosses. I'll go as far up river as the tide allows, then get slingshot with the tide back out to sea, passing egrets and eiders, oil tankers and gas terminals, and the bridges over the river and harbor, back to east end as the sun sets and wishing I had a little more time to enjoy an ebb tide and gentle breeze.

Cheers,
Clint

**Boatmik** · 9th December 2009, 02:47 PM

It is pretty hard to find a map that will display inline.

**CCBB** · 28th December 2009, 01:25 PM

MIK, thanks for digging that up. I found good online charts for Casco Bay at BoatUS. In the attached image, I plan to row out to Halfway Rock in Casco Bay. You can see the shoal just below the "NOT" in the not for navigational use disclaimer.

I have found some time to keep my blog up to date and been dreaming up boats, oars, and rowing so check that out at my blog.

Here is the recent post:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2009
Open Water Rowing in Casco Bay

"I like to get out there sit in the swell and look out" is how I think of a pleasant row in my home waters of Casco Bay, Maine. Along with dreaming of boats, like Culler's Otter, I dream of where to go in the boats. Next year's big row is out to Halfway Rock in the middle of Casco Bay, about 15 mile offshore. You can also see a large scale chart of Casco Bay.

Rowing in open water like this scares the hell out of me. When I sit there, in the swell, looking out, the butterflies flutter inside, making it more challenging to assess the situation and peruse the mental checklist of precautions. Weather window, ferry traffic, tidal currents, my energy level, time of day, schedule back on land, amount of food in the dry bag, do I have all the gear I need, what is plan B, plan C....

But I am learning that these butterflies are annoying but good; they keep me alive and ultimately confident. Once I am out there in open water, and I am feeling strong, confident in the boat, and having a blast, I relax and therefore row better. In my open water boat, Drake, I can cover about 4 nm per hour and that is an average. Time slips away and life is good. Christmas has been wonderful, and the weather cold, and now I begin to plan big rows for next year. I am training for long distance rows and hope to make a 20-mile row somewhat routine. Halfway Rock, located below the 'Not' in "Not for Navigational Use" is uncannily "halfway" between the Eastern and western points that define Casco Bay. It is an exposed rocky isle with a lighthouse. Landing there will be difficult, so when I row there next summer, it will be my longest pull yet, at least 25 miles total, depending on the exact route.

Time to dream, be patient as the sun makes its way back north, and time to get in shape!
Posted by Clint Chase Boatbuilder at 9:01 PM
Labels: Drake, Oars, open water rowing, rowboats, rowing

I encourage everyone to learn to make nice oars, build a good rowboat, and get out there and row. It really is the finest on-water experience. You can always bring a small sail for downwind work...that is a key part

**Boatmik** · 28th December 2009, 02:10 PM

Nice post Clint!

What is the typical range of wind and water temps when you go rowing?

People might not realise just what Clint is saying here about having the right gear and a Plan A and B and C and monitoring his own sense of what he is physically and mentally up to on a particular day.

It is pretty amazing stuff compared to the generally less extreme conditions we see in OZ - i guess ours are on the other side - water and shade and you can survive for quite a long time.

I read something that was written about a snow rescue Clint was involved in (on the rescuing side) a few years ago. It was chilling stuff ... literally with the line between survival and not rather blurred - and that was for the rescuing team. The article showed how even very experienced people can make decisions that seem quite simple but can suddenly look quite almost crazy half an hour later.

He is also a trained and practiced meteorologist which must help.

I don't think Clint makes a plan B and C when going shopping, but I guess he would be tempted sometimes!

MIK

**CCBB** · 31st December 2009, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Nice post Clint!

He is also a trained and practiced meteorologist which must help.

I don't think Clint makes a plan B and C when going shopping, but I guess he would be tempted sometimes!

MIK

TX, MIK.

Regarding the "plan B and C when going shopping"...that one is easy. I don't even make a plan A. It is all internet or serious planning with list in hand and in and out shopping for me!

Regarding my met background...all that really means is that on the water when a squall is coming up, I am usually the first one to yell...SH#$%^&^%$@#$@#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sails down! Sail down!

OK, it won me one race, I'll admit to that. It was my first race of a series in our 30 sailboat and at the party afterwards everyone wanted to meet us. I won't say a word about how we did the rest of the races!

Happy New Year, all!

**BobWes** · 24th February 2010, 12:04 PM

How much should a 9' oar weigh? Ballpark figure? I know it will depend on the wood used and design but for a 9' oar made of big box DF, what would a target weight be?

Thanks.

**CCBB** · 24th February 2010, 02:01 PM

Good question...I still have yet to buy a scale for the shop. The late Pete Culler, my oarmaking hero, and a boatbuilder whose boats were bought for the oars as much as the beautiful boats, says:

"How much should a pair of spruce oars weight? It is always a guess -- 5 1/2 to 6 pounds for a pair of unleathered, ready to varnish 8 1/2 to 9-footers is not uncommon".

The balance of the oar is more important than the overall weight.

**BobWes** · 24th February 2010, 02:23 PM

Thanks, Clint.

Maybe I need to do some more planing... My first oar weighs 4.4 pounds, which is - based on Mr. Culler's remark - a bit on the high side.

Don't know about where it should balance. Oar is currently 2800mm (just a bit over 9') overall and balances at 1270mm from the very end of the grip (1530mm from the end of the blade). I am guessing I want it to balance closer to the handle, correct?

Thanks.

**BobWes** · 24th February 2010, 02:25 PM

Meant to include a photo...

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