Thoughts on oars, blade thickness, shaft diameter, and final weight

I have been lurking on this forum for a good long while,  and have a love for wooden boats,  paddles and oars.  I have made a few ash and cedar raft paddles (guide sticks)  and have always wanted to make oars for rowing whitewater.  I run an Aire superpuma or a bobcat (teeny cat)  on III-V water.   Currently I am running 9 foot cataracts with magnum blades  in open oarlocks with sleeves and oar rights ( I like to be able to feather the oars while surfing)   

After spending way too much time on the forum reading everything I could find on oars. I found some clear ash,  cherry,  and cedar and went to work.   I made two different pairs of oars.  Both have ash and cherry for the blades,  one pair is 1/2 ash 1/4 cedar 1/2 ash 1/4 cedar/ 1/2 ash that has been shaved down to roughly a hair under 2 inch in diameter ,  the other pair is the same,  but with cherry instead of the cedar.    I laminated the layers with west epoxy,  and silca microfibers thickened to ketchup consistency,  and I am pretty pleased with what I have,  but,  light they are not.   The blades are currently 1/2 inch thick.   I am planning on putting a layer of fiberglass on the blades and two coats of west 207 and then spar varnish to protect against uv...   

I am wondering  how heavy a 9 foot wood whitewater oar should be and if I should shave the shafts down more,  and if I can shave down the blades a bit as well before I finish  Right now the cedar ones are about 2 pounds (each)  heavier than the cataracts,  and the cherry ones are about 4.5 each.   Cherry is heavy stuff.  

Shaving down the shafts with a sharp spokeshave has been therapeutic but I do not want to go to far.  

Thoughts

Jeff

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Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on September 28, 2014 at 7:07am
Sounds like you have made some beautiful oars. The weight seems fine. My 9' spruce oars from Barkley Sound are 4 lbs each. An ash oar of the same length would weigh more.

I am not a fan of glass on the blades. Really don't gain anything except weight by adding glass. Many years ago Ray Heater shared his oar tip treatment with me. Ray and Cyrus like to leave the last few inches of the blade unvarnished. Then stand them up in a bucket of oil when not in use. This softens the tips and prevents splitting. Also round off the end of the blade. This helps prevent a direct hit on a downstream oar which also prevents splitting.

Just my $.02.
Permalink Reply by Rojo on September 28, 2014 at 10:36am

I want to see a picture of these sticks. They sound beautiful. They don't sound ridiculously heavy to me, and I'm guessing it will be pretty difficult to make any oar in wood as light as the hollow shafted composite oars.

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on September 28, 2014 at 3:04pm

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on September 28, 2014 at 3:05pm

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on September 28, 2014 at 3:09pm

I am really new at figuring out the computer end of things so I just added to huge pictures to the thread.  the top shaft is ash/cedar and around 7.5 pounds...  the bottom is ash/cherry and rocking around 9 pounds each...  probably will not snap in my lifetime though  The blades are about 1/2 inch thick,  and I cound knock them down a bit.. maybe 3/8  and that would take off a bit of weight too..  

They are naked right now,  and I was going to finish with two layers of 207 and then spar varnish,  but now,  I am looking at folks who seem to go straight to just varnish...

I did a single layer of glass on the raft paddle I made,  but the blades also where about 3/16 at the edges.  

It was too heavy though,  and now hangs as decoration.   

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on September 28, 2014 at 6:40pm

Jeff,

As you epoxy the shafts and blades do NOT epoxy the handles.  They should be Oil ed.  Epoxy is too hard a surface and you'll end up with blisters.  If you glass the blades the tips are more likely to be damaged so use a heavy weight cloth or double layers of 6 Oz.

Dorf

Permalink Reply by Dave Z on October 7, 2014 at 6:52am

Nice work!

 

Thin out the blades but leave a decent "spine." 

 

If you can, get some Sassafrass.  I've switched over to using this amazing wood for oars and paddles.  It looks almost like white oak, just a little darker, is light wieght, and the flex is outstanding in a set of oars.  Not to mention is smells great and the shavings and waste is used in the smokehouse.    I've made a laminated set with a 1/4" ash center strip with laminated ash/sass blades.  For a set of 9 footers, they weigh in at just over 5 pounds each.  

 

 

Permalink Reply by Gregg Maddock on October 8, 2014 at 3:54pm

When I first built my boat I picked up a pair of blemished 9' oars from Advance Composites (Cataract) in SLC.  A few years later I sold those and purchased a pair of 10' Sawyer Smoker Ash oars.  They were heavier but performed great except the balance was a little off.  I can't remember why I went with a 10' oar.  But if I went with a 9' oar it would of been more balanced.  I would not look at the weight as much as I would look at how they are balanced.  If they are balanced they will feel lighter regardless if they are heavier.

 

Oars look great by the way.  Post some more photos.

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on October 8, 2014 at 6:55pm

Thanks.   I rowed wood oars once,  in the grand canyon,  on a commercial trip in 98.   The trip leader had done a trip for the mitchell family (of mitchell paddle fame)  and as a thank you they sent him 4 of the most stunning oars I have ever seen.   Nearly a decade and a half later,  I still think about them,  the flex,  and the feel. 

I am stoked about putting mine in the water,  but will still dream of the mitchells.   

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on October 8, 2014 at 6:50pm

right now the blades are a full 1/2 inch to the edge.   I am thinking about knocking them down to maybe 3/8..  possibly even down to 5/16...   

I was looking at the guide stick I made,  and I thinned that down to 3/16,  but I think I want the blades on oars to be a bit thicker.

I asked at my wood supplier about sassafras,  and got a dumb look,  so I gave up and went the ash cedar route...   BUT if I come across some,  I am going to be on it...

Permalink Reply by Dave Z on October 9, 2014 at 7:37am

Jeff- Im in Pennsylvania.  Sassafrass grows everywhere here. I'd gladly trade some for some clean straight western red cedar.  now just figure out how to get make that trade! :)

 

I looked at my oars- my blades taper out to just over 5/16"  on my favorite set of flat water oars.

 

Permalink Reply by jeff robbins on October 9, 2014 at 10:17am

Dave

I am thinking bigger than 5/16th...  maybe 3/8 will be the magic number

I have a ton of pretty stunning spalted maple and some massive red oak that I would like to get rid of if you have some long sassafrass...

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