Outrigger type oarlocks

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Does anyone know where to get outrigger-type oarlocks? I'm in process of building an Anapolis Wherry and want to be able to row it fixed seat double as well as single sliding seat. Boat is too narrow, I think, for oars longer than about 7 feet unless I extend out the oarlocks at the fixed seats.

-- Jim Tolpin (tolpin@olympus.net), June 14, 2000

Answers

Shaw and Tenny in Orono Maine sell a folding bronze oarlock based, a copy of one made by a company out of Utica that supplied to Rushton and others. You can also make these if you have access to foundry/ metal working and there are several nice examples about. I can't get you drawings but I can get photos etc. if you contact me. I suspect that with carbon you could make some composite ones. Another approach would be removable wings. But before you do all this try some oars. For a low freeboard Delaware ducker with 3'6" inches between the pins, if I pull with a handle's worth of overlap I can do 7'6" oars. Borrow some oars and try them. You may find that the boat moves so readily that 7 footers are just fine. A fast way of getting into the ball park and putting buttons onto oars is crossing them on the boat with a handles worth of overlap and marking the locks. My favorites have a shallow button under the leather made with a mariline turks head: a few wraps will do as well. Then leather over. This gives you the length to change positions but has a bump at the sweet spot. I suspect that this position will change slightly between forward and after oars unless the sides are precisely parallel or you played with the lock position.

-- Ben Fuller (bfuller@midcoast.com), June 14, 2000.

Dear Jim,

I've been making outrigger equipped craft for more than 20 years. I've found that outriggers are generally undesirable on cruising boats. Before proceeding with anything you should look over the comments and suggestions in response to Dick Hamly's query about riggers, listed under Gear. He has the same boat you're building.

Yours,

Andre de Bardelaben

-- Andre de Bardelaben (middlepath@aol.com), June 14, 2000.


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