Thread: rowing a canoe

The way I would consider as a starting point is using the modern "boomerang" (as one manufacturer called it) type tubular outrigger. Could be plywood top and bottom faces with 19mm square timber along the edges and blocking for outrigger and hull attachment points.

Only two little pics - sorry




I am not sure if there are patents etc - but as a self build for your own use only you should be pretty safe.

Getting all the angles and spacing sorted might be a bit interesting - but it is one solution for a drop in rigger that is pretty simple.

MIK

thanks Mik.Looks good,but a little beyond my capabilities ,lol I saw a ply unit on a canoe somewhere on the www.was thinking along those lines.

How long is your pirogue ?
As in, how fast is it likely to go?
My Teal is only 40" at the rowlocks, but is comfortable to row with 7'4" oars.
Not fast, but comfortable.
Will hold around 3kts all day without hardly breaking a sweat.
AJ

Howdy,
I don't think it is too difficult.

Imagine cutting out two pieces of thin ply to the shape of the "boomerang". Then put some framing between the two of them.

MIK

Overal length is 17Ft,but due to rocker with two adults on board only around 15-16 feet.

ok .i will give it further thought.sounds like it may not be so difficult.thank you.

My Adirondack Guideboat is only 39" wide and I use 8' oars.

I'm no expert at rowing, but assuming 'Stormbringer' is the boat you plan to row,
and your real name is not Arnie Swarzenegger, I doubt you'll achieve the boat
speed to require long oars, or the outriggers & sliding seat they need to set up
leverage of arm travel vs blade speed.
If you'll be rowing from somewhere near the middle, 8ft oars into row locks
directly onto the outer gunwales would probably be fine. If you build them to
MIK's free plan & counterweight the looms, you might even go to 8'6" comfortably.

I have a vague recollection of seeing pics of a clever plywood contraption which
fit into existing rowlock sockets - probably in AABB, & probably 6-10yrs ago.
IIRC, the bloke was converting something like an Oughtred 'Acorn 15' (46" beam)
into a sliding seat skiff. If I have time tomorrow, I'll scratch around & see if I
can unearth them.
cheers
AJ

Haven't found the plywood outriggers. All I recall is that they were
triangular & had a brace downwards to keep them from drooping...

Here's a couple of pics from AABB #27 of aluminium outriggers by Vandermill
Boats at Tathra on a modified David Payne design.

Also found an article by Murray Isles in AABB # 45 quoting 2 slightly different
formulae for calculating oar length. and a scan of his oars plan as published.
According to Isles:

Shaw & Tenney (USA) assume 100mm overlap (cross-arm rowing) so inside
length is 1/2 the beam + 50mm. Total length is 22/7 of this inside length.
So they'd recommend around 1.8M oars for you with wide blades. (which
seems awfully short to me...)

Don Street in "Ocean Sailing Yacht Vol.2" suggests twice the beam + 150mm.
For you that'd be around 2250mm but with narrower blade. Street assumes
rowing non-feathering - the narrow blade avoids 'catching' on the crests of
waves on the back stroke. Extreme example being Irish curraghs with very
long oars, but blades only as wide as the shafts.

Isles further comments that both these formulae are for traditional low-sided
pulling boats. High sided boats need longer oars, but doesn't state how you
calculate how much longer.

Isles points out that at 2.1M long, the arms do most of the work. Over 2.8M
you can start thinking about sliding seats because a) the handles can travel
further, and b) wide blades on longer oars need more muscle power than just
the arms.

Also, long oars are a nuisance in creeks & harbours.

Hope some of this is useful.
cheers
AJ

Thank you.This has given me a lot of food for thought.And yes it is Stormbringer i want to row.

This is the photo i was looking for."Cinderella",designed by Gavin Atkin i believe.

Here's a neat idea for a set of folding out-riggers made from a pair of barn door
hinges. Yaquina Guide Boat - a set on Flickr
The boat they are on is only about 30" wide though.
story at DoryMan: Yaquina Guide Boat - Redux

And I spent some time the last couple of days paring some weight off my
oars for Teal. Turns out they are only 7ft long, not 7'6".

I see Ross Lillistone has a set of oar plans in this week's release of AABB.
cheers
AJ