July 13, 2004: Had the boat out on the Hudson today. Put in at Bethlehem below Albany and mostly explored Papscanee Creek, which is just a bit downriver and across. Did a lot of pushing on the oars. Quiet morning, rainy, the GBHerons were spectacular.

I've put traditional guide boat oarstraps on. They needed a thicker gunwale, so I did that, and since the added material made the gunwale stiffer, it made the boat narrower! Now I have to redrill the oars because they're crossing over too much. I think the boat has a better shape now, and a bit more freeboard.

I'm still not using my S&T spoons, still not feathering, the stuff I got from Concept Two didn't work out all the way. The plastic oarcage part is fine but they rotate on a pin, and I need special pins for my setup. My plan is to call Bob from Springfield Fan Centerboard Co.

best, Ed A Albany NY

-- Ed Atkeson (edatkeson@earthlink.net), July 13, 2004

Answers

Hi Ed - I'm out here on San Francisco Bay. My boat is a Bell Northstar canoe with a v-shaped oak rigger wing bolted to the gunwales, and I row it fixed seat. I know there are dissenting voices here as to the row-worthiness of canoes, but I love having one versatile boat that I can carry hernia-free, sneak down a tiny creek one day and row fast on the open bay the next.

I bought some lovely 8' S&T spoons, cherry tips and all, and I've been playing with the rigging. I started with the S&T formula, which yielded a 50" pin span, 27" of inboard, and 4" of overlap. The hull moves so well that this felt a little soft, and I tried a 48" span with 26" of inboard. This feels good. I think any less inboard would be too hard to pull into a 20 knot wind.

Which brings up the topic of feathering. I like the relaxed hands and reliable pitch of rowing with pinned oars, and so for these rigging trials, I made adjustable collars from pvc with their sides filed flat to fit snugly into my north river oarlocks, whose horns are straight and parallel. When I decide the proper inboard for sure, I plan to drill the oars (ouch!) and pin them to the oarlocks. My hope is to combine the light touch of the guideboat oars with the efficiency of the spoon blade.

It's true that without feathering, even the narrow spoons will catch the odd crab on the recovery, and will slow me down a tad when pulling into that 20 knot wind. And I won't be able to adjust my inboard on-the-fly, as long leathers would let me. I considered the Concept2 idea, which would give me a sure pitch, easy feathering, and adjustable inboard, but I'm a nut for quietness and wouldn't want the clunk-clunk when starting the drive. I guess the big lesson of small boats is that you can't have everything.

For your pins - I know it's ugly, but have you considered a 1/2" (or whatever) stainless bolt, fit upside down into your sockets with the head below, a nut above, and your cage sitting on the protruding bolt? I think the nylon would be ok bearing on the threads of the bolt. Just an idea.

The herons are something, aren't they?

-- Ivor Thomas (ivordthomas@yahoo.com), July 13, 2004.

with my fixed seat boat/homemade oars i've gone with 1.5 inch pvc pipe as the sleeve about 7 inchs long & use a scotty oarlock over that. (made a cut length wise on the pipe so it can expand a bit to fit on the oar shaft)

to hold the pitch and inboard on the oars - i used a tight figure eight wrap around the oar sleeve and the oar lock with about 3/8th bungee cord. gives me a fairly stable pitch but still allows for an adjustable inboard as the wraps aren't tight enough to completely imobilise things... and didn't have to drill any holes in my oars.

a couple wraps would probably make things a lot more stable but i'm happy with how it's working.

Mike

-- mike reiner (reiners@silk.net), July 14, 2004.

Ivor: It's true that without feathering, even the narrow spoons will catch the odd crab on the recovery, and will slow me down a tad when pulling into that 20 knot wind. And I won't be able to adjust my inboard on-the-fly, as long leathers would let me. I considered the Concept2 idea, which would give me a sure pitch, easy feathering, and adjustable inboard, but I'm a nut for quietness and wouldn't want the clunk-clunk when starting the drive. I guess the big lesson of small boats is that you can't have everything.

Ivor, I'm with you on the need for quiet. I'm hoping wooden oars with leathers will be quiet feathering in the Concept2 cages. I'm achieving the D shape by gluing a couple of pieces of halfround wooden moulding on the shaft of the oar, then cover with leather.

Mike, I really like your bungee-cord button idea. I wish I could see your setup.

thanks for the comments, Ed A

-- Ed Atkeson (edatkeson@earthlink.net), July 14, 2004.

digital photo headed your way via email

-- mike reiner (reiners@silk.net), July 14, 2004.

Thanks for the ideas, gents. I'll try some feathering options before drilling holes in my oars. Maas Boats has some replacement cages on their site; they might bolt to my rigger wing.

-- Ivor Thomas (ivordthomas@yahoo.com), July 16, 2004.