This pic was taken at the Center for Wooden Boats over there on Lake Union...I'm sure the knot itself would eventually loosen and slip. you'd have to secure it somehow...a lot of time folks use a couple tiny nails to keep thinks tight and in place...lookin good! dang fancy!
That knot is very cool. I have been wanting to do this for years but have just not gotten around to doing it. A couple of thoughts on how to keep it in place: 1. Use cotton rope that is soaked in water so it shrinks as it dries, probably the traditional method before modern adhesives were invented. 2. Run a bead of 5200 around the oar and tie the knot over it. Could make for messy knot tying but it will certainly stay put. The only oars I have ever broken are some old ones that had small nails holding the old leather wraps.
Yes they are used for oar stops. Several years ago I built a glued lapstrake peapod and a set of 9' oars. It took 2 winters to do the job and 1 summer to get the turkshead knot right. I used 3/16 " nylon. It takes a little time to do and a needlenose plyers to keep pulling the knot tight after getting it done. I used a little varnish to "glue" the knot to the oar. Stand it upright and dribble a bead of varnish around the knot and let it run down the oar behind the knot. Looks very classy.
Good Luck
Thanks for the encouragement. I think I'm gonna give it a try. I saw a pic on the web that looked great. They did a 3 strand turk's then overlaid that with a 4 strand turk's. The outcome was a very tubular turk's. I looked like they used cotton but I like the idea of nylon or polyester for durability.