Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

epoxy for oars?

I have a set of Austrailian Ash oars that need to be refinished. One of them has about a 1/2" split in the end of the blade. My plan was to through a little epoxy in the crack (the blades crack and not mine) and then use some spar urethane on the oars. My question is would it be worth while to epoxy the whole oar...or at least the whole blade before adding the finish. Will the epoxy help with the wear and tear or do more harm than good. I don't want to soak the oars in oil between uses because I don't want to deal with the hassel or the mess. Any thoughts?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Sobba on August 31, 2009 at 5:47am

Will, I am building my own oars of ash. One of the boards of lumber had a check crack in it I thought it would not end up in the blade of the oar, but it did. I hind site should have had the blade on the other end. I just filled it with epoxy and wood floor and am going to put fiberglass around the edges, clear coat with epoxy System 3 x2 and varnish. Someone on the forum said they had a crack in one of their ribs during construction and filled it with epoxy and it had been fine for ? 5 years. I live in Kansas, so have no "real water" test. Steve Sobba

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jon Carter on August 31, 2009 at 6:34am

I have repaired three different laminated canoe paddles by filling with epoxy before the final coat. However I added a layer of fine weave glass at the same time. The glass was fine enough that you don't see it but the strength it adds is important. They have held up very well but be sure and apply a good varnish with UV protection so the repair will last.