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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on April 2, 2015 at 11:40am

I have some 8.5's you can try.

Rick

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Permalink Reply by Bob bryan on April 3, 2015 at 8:54am

My 14 foot Tatman came kwith 8 foot oars, works but too small. Last trip I used my 9 foot ones and that was about right. 8.5, might be fine too. Only drawback to long oars are more weight and on very skinny water you might find it tougher to squeeze through the brush but usually you can pull them in to clear things. the 8 foot worked ok but they seemed to make me work harder than needed. Main problem is the angle is more when feathering the oars in skinny water so you get less blade working for you. I was pleased with 9 foot length on the 14 foot boat and it reminded me I want 10footers for my 17.5 Tatman course I have been meaning to address that for 34 years so not holding my breath. Side height and width might be different for your boat but even on my 10 foot drift pram 8 foot seems a little short to me. This is prbly a personal like type of thing, the borrowing offer From Rick is a good deal.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on April 3, 2015 at 6:26pm

I know a river that we will both be close to soon to try them on too. I am scheduled to be in bear camp in less than 30 days.

Rick N

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Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on April 4, 2015 at 7:38am

Oar length can be a very personal choice but there are some factors involved. Distance between the oar locks is the most obvious one but height of the rower is another. Tall rower/short rower makes a difference too. The taller the rower the shorter the oar can be. I like the shortest oar possible because it make my boat narrower, which means I can row closer to the bank without shipping my oars and rowing awkwardly. I am short so to get tall I build my seat higher, almost to the top of the shear rail. Want to get tall in a hurry? Sit on a cushion.

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