Re: [bolger] Re: Oar Locks or Thole pins?
I really like thole pins. It goes along with my "minimal money, minimal
marine hardware" approach. I had a boat for years in which I just glued a
piece of 2x2 to the inside skin, epoxied and filleted, no fasteners (the
sheer stringer was on the outside) and rounded off the part sticking up. It
only stuck out 2" so wouldn't hit a car roof if the rack were that high, but
would make it difficult to slide the boat on from one end. But that boat
lived in the water and was never cartopped.
What annoys me about oarlocks is the oar moving around in the lock during
the stroke, and the noise . With the thole pins I had a loop of shock cord
around the oar instead of rope. It kept the oar snug against the pin. It
was held in place with a fastener on the aft side of the loom and looped
over the pin and then hooked under an angled screw on the side of the pin
just below the gunwale. To ship or unship oars, just pop the shock cord
loop on or off. To row backwards lift the oar over the pin to the other
side. It sounds complicated but worked well in daily use for years. The
same could be done with removeable thole pins. The oars had leather
leathers, but we've also had success with dacron sailcloth and abs pipe.
Oarlocks are my wife's choice, so the 16' boat I have now, which is always
cartopped by sliding on from one end on top of a big van, has standard round
oarlocks that stay on the oars and abs pipe "leathers" with a strip of abs
pipe button at the inboard edge to stop the oarlocks from sliding up too
far, and keep the oars perfectly positioned. They make a little noise and
one button has an annoying habit of catching on the oarlock with every
stroke, but it is on my list of things to fix, which I will do by glueing on
another strip of abs to the button. I'd like to try the oarlocks that have
the forward side straight up in line with the pivot, like Bolger shows in
Small Boats. But then like I said, I'm not inclined to spend money on
marine hardware if there is another way.
For anyone who doesn't know what I mean by abs pipe, it just the cheap black
sewer pipe available in hardware stores. My oars are closet rod with 1 1/2"
pipe slid over the bearing area. I think the white pvc pipe would work fine
too.
Gary Lepak
Port Angeles, WA
marine hardware" approach. I had a boat for years in which I just glued a
piece of 2x2 to the inside skin, epoxied and filleted, no fasteners (the
sheer stringer was on the outside) and rounded off the part sticking up. It
only stuck out 2" so wouldn't hit a car roof if the rack were that high, but
would make it difficult to slide the boat on from one end. But that boat
lived in the water and was never cartopped.
What annoys me about oarlocks is the oar moving around in the lock during
the stroke, and the noise . With the thole pins I had a loop of shock cord
around the oar instead of rope. It kept the oar snug against the pin. It
was held in place with a fastener on the aft side of the loom and looped
over the pin and then hooked under an angled screw on the side of the pin
just below the gunwale. To ship or unship oars, just pop the shock cord
loop on or off. To row backwards lift the oar over the pin to the other
side. It sounds complicated but worked well in daily use for years. The
same could be done with removeable thole pins. The oars had leather
leathers, but we've also had success with dacron sailcloth and abs pipe.
Oarlocks are my wife's choice, so the 16' boat I have now, which is always
cartopped by sliding on from one end on top of a big van, has standard round
oarlocks that stay on the oars and abs pipe "leathers" with a strip of abs
pipe button at the inboard edge to stop the oarlocks from sliding up too
far, and keep the oars perfectly positioned. They make a little noise and
one button has an annoying habit of catching on the oarlock with every
stroke, but it is on my list of things to fix, which I will do by glueing on
another strip of abs to the button. I'd like to try the oarlocks that have
the forward side straight up in line with the pivot, like Bolger shows in
Small Boats. But then like I said, I'm not inclined to spend money on
marine hardware if there is another way.
For anyone who doesn't know what I mean by abs pipe, it just the cheap black
sewer pipe available in hardware stores. My oars are closet rod with 1 1/2"
pipe slid over the bearing area. I think the white pvc pipe would work fine
too.
Gary Lepak
Port Angeles, WA
> That's the dilemma. Which to install. With no experience in boatsat
> all let alone rowing them we haven't a clue as to the pros andcons.
I'd go with good quality oarlocks, until you get some practice. You
won't be sorry.
> I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket andduring rowing
> remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose
Practice..
>How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to holdthe
>oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to theboat.
> What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?Again, a bit of practice. You should have a lanyard, typically from
the bottom of the shaft to a "looped wire" toggle _____O_____ which
will keep it from going overboard. In my daughter's boat, I put
whistles at the end of the lanyards; so she always knows where to
find a signalling device.
But my preference is "Davis" folding oarlocks - they stay in the
boat. There are several sources online, like
http://www.tendercraftboats.com/oars.htmlBut for car-topping, you
need to have a bungee cord or something to keep them from flopping
down.
> Are there wooden oarlocks?Not that I've seen - woodn't seem to make much sense.
Curtis
Seasons Greetings, Bolgeristas,
My brother Dave and his wife use thole pins on their Nymph and
Glouster Light Gulls (one currently composing itself for a Viking
funeral, the other brand new). They're a complete pain if you're out
of practice and in a hurry, or trying to slap bugs and avoid spinning
a Nymph in a circle, but the advantages and security from hardware
theft far outweigh the inconvenience, and with a little practice you
don't catch any more crabs than you do with regular oar locks.
Thole pins should be removable for car topping. I remember reading
somewhere, either in this group or on another Web site, where someone
was worried about car topping with thole pins, and I couldn't figure
out the problem, since my only experience with pins is through my
brother. They pull the pins, and the block, flush with the gunwale is
less danger to the car than a metal oarlock.
Dave and his wife use whittled sticks as pins. When they
beach their boat, they yank out the pins and toss them in the bottom
of the boat. If any potential thief sees them, 99% won't know what
they are. If they lose them, a few minutes with a nearby branch or
piece of driftwood and a pocket knife sets everything to right. They
may get extra cautious and jam the pins in their pocket. They also
make their own oars out of spruce saplings (we're really lucky--the
Sitka spruce you folks pay top dollar for, we chop down because it's
in the way. It's disgraceful, really) and plywood blades. Their
reasoning, which seems to work, is that they're too ugly to steal.
I'll start a June Bug after the Christmas season, and I plan to use
thole pins. I do plan to epoxy the blocks, though. My relatives don't,
and the blocks tend to swell. It's no fun pounding a thole pin in with
a water-softened fist, let me tell you.
Phil Bolger has written in favor of thole pins in the past. I can't
site the source or rationale, but it has to do with better driving
force than regular oar locks provide. I like them for the low cost,
traditional touch, and security.
On a completely different note, my family was browsing our local Ben
Franklin store, and we found a bolt of cloth with boat blue print
pattern. I'm almost positive one of the designs is Bolger's Micro. My
wife has promised me a shirt out of the fabric. Sorry guys, there's
only enough on the bolt for one shirt, otherwise I'd suggest you place
your orders!
Mark Zeiger
Juneau, AK
Martha Jane, Teal, June Bug coming soon.
My brother Dave and his wife use thole pins on their Nymph and
Glouster Light Gulls (one currently composing itself for a Viking
funeral, the other brand new). They're a complete pain if you're out
of practice and in a hurry, or trying to slap bugs and avoid spinning
a Nymph in a circle, but the advantages and security from hardware
theft far outweigh the inconvenience, and with a little practice you
don't catch any more crabs than you do with regular oar locks.
Thole pins should be removable for car topping. I remember reading
somewhere, either in this group or on another Web site, where someone
was worried about car topping with thole pins, and I couldn't figure
out the problem, since my only experience with pins is through my
brother. They pull the pins, and the block, flush with the gunwale is
less danger to the car than a metal oarlock.
Dave and his wife use whittled sticks as pins. When they
beach their boat, they yank out the pins and toss them in the bottom
of the boat. If any potential thief sees them, 99% won't know what
they are. If they lose them, a few minutes with a nearby branch or
piece of driftwood and a pocket knife sets everything to right. They
may get extra cautious and jam the pins in their pocket. They also
make their own oars out of spruce saplings (we're really lucky--the
Sitka spruce you folks pay top dollar for, we chop down because it's
in the way. It's disgraceful, really) and plywood blades. Their
reasoning, which seems to work, is that they're too ugly to steal.
I'll start a June Bug after the Christmas season, and I plan to use
thole pins. I do plan to epoxy the blocks, though. My relatives don't,
and the blocks tend to swell. It's no fun pounding a thole pin in with
a water-softened fist, let me tell you.
Phil Bolger has written in favor of thole pins in the past. I can't
site the source or rationale, but it has to do with better driving
force than regular oar locks provide. I like them for the low cost,
traditional touch, and security.
On a completely different note, my family was browsing our local Ben
Franklin store, and we found a bolt of cloth with boat blue print
pattern. I'm almost positive one of the designs is Bolger's Micro. My
wife has promised me a shirt out of the fabric. Sorry guys, there's
only enough on the bolt for one shirt, otherwise I'd suggest you place
your orders!
Mark Zeiger
Juneau, AK
Martha Jane, Teal, June Bug coming soon.
Bruce: A few thoughts on options to metal oarlocks, gleaned from
reading Pete Culler's "Oars and Rowing" and other stuff.
1. I think thole pins are generally removable, with a short line or
chain attached to keep them from getting lost.
2. If you can, take a look at Ian Oughtred's "Elf," a 15-foot
norweigian faering. He uses a traditional norweigian design
involving one fixed piece of wood (I forget whether it's fore or aft
of the oar) and a rope that holds the oar in place.
3. It may be too late for this, but river "yawl" boats used on the
Ohio and Mississippi had wood piece on the sheerstrake that was
scalloped sort of like the sculling notch used on the transom of
many small boats. I don't think they used any line -- the notch was
deep enough to keep the oar from jumping out.
As for metal oarlocks, you might check out the catalog from Bristol
Bronze. They have a number of different traditional styles that
attach to the boat in different ways, and some may be more appealing
to you than others.
Steve
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "Bruce C. Anderson" <bcanderson@c...>
wrote:
place. I'm positive they will break off during the car topping
procedure. I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far
there isn't any metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize
how I will keep the oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also
I'd like to avoid any metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket
and remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose
during rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as
breaking them off every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold
the oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to
the boat. What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while
rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
reading Pete Culler's "Oars and Rowing" and other stuff.
1. I think thole pins are generally removable, with a short line or
chain attached to keep them from getting lost.
2. If you can, take a look at Ian Oughtred's "Elf," a 15-foot
norweigian faering. He uses a traditional norweigian design
involving one fixed piece of wood (I forget whether it's fore or aft
of the oar) and a rope that holds the oar in place.
3. It may be too late for this, but river "yawl" boats used on the
Ohio and Mississippi had wood piece on the sheerstrake that was
scalloped sort of like the sculling notch used on the transom of
many small boats. I don't think they used any line -- the notch was
deep enough to keep the oar from jumping out.
As for metal oarlocks, you might check out the catalog from Bristol
Bronze. They have a number of different traditional styles that
attach to the boat in different ways, and some may be more appealing
to you than others.
Steve
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "Bruce C. Anderson" <bcanderson@c...>
wrote:
>like the idea of the car topping the boat with the Thole pins in
> I like the idea of Thole pins and rope to hold the oar, but don't
place. I'm positive they will break off during the car topping
procedure. I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far
there isn't any metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize
how I will keep the oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also
I'd like to avoid any metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket
and remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose
during rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as
breaking them off every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold
the oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to
the boat. What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while
rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
Bruce, the oarlocks I've used have relied on gravity to keep them
from jumping out. It's always been strong enough.
Dan
At 12:30 PM -0700 12/7/02, Bruce C. Anderson wrote:
from jumping out. It's always been strong enough.
Dan
At 12:30 PM -0700 12/7/02, Bruce C. Anderson wrote:
>...[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold the
>oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to the boat.
>What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?...
I am interested in all the answers you get. We have thole pins mounted as a tight fit in holes in the gunnels. don't always stay in place; or swell up when wet and won't come out. Rowing with thole pins is not as pleasant as I imagined rowing with metal oar locks would be, but haven't tried that yet. Hope the experts weigh in.
Richard , still working on the four year house building job and dreaming of building a sail boat instead.
Howdy
The South Haven Dory is getting her last coat of spar varnish on the
bottom today. Then we are going to flip her and spar varnish the
inside. The last step in finishing her will be to install oar locks or
Thole pins.
That's the dilemma. Which to install. With no experience in boats at
all let alone rowing them we haven't a clue as to the pros and cons.
I like the idea of Thole pins and rope to hold the oar, but don't like
the idea of the car topping the boat with the Thole pins in place. I'm
positive they will break off during the car topping procedure.
I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far there isn't any
metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize how I will keep the
oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also I'd like to avoid any
metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket and
remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose during
rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as breaking them off
every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold the
oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to the boat.
What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
TIA
See Ya
Have Fun
Bruce
www.myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
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- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA, 01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Richard , still working on the four year house building job and dreaming of building a sail boat instead.
Howdy
The South Haven Dory is getting her last coat of spar varnish on the
bottom today. Then we are going to flip her and spar varnish the
inside. The last step in finishing her will be to install oar locks or
Thole pins.
That's the dilemma. Which to install. With no experience in boats at
all let alone rowing them we haven't a clue as to the pros and cons.
I like the idea of Thole pins and rope to hold the oar, but don't like
the idea of the car topping the boat with the Thole pins in place. I'm
positive they will break off during the car topping procedure.
I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far there isn't any
metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize how I will keep the
oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also I'd like to avoid any
metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket and
remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose during
rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as breaking them off
every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold the
oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to the boat.
What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
TIA
See Ya
Have Fun
Bruce
www.myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
Bolger rules!!!
- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA, 01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Howdy
The South Haven Dory is getting her last coat of spar varnish on the
bottom today. Then we are going to flip her and spar varnish the
inside. The last step in finishing her will be to install oar locks or
Thole pins.
That's the dilemma. Which to install. With no experience in boats at
all let alone rowing them we haven't a clue as to the pros and cons.
I like the idea of Thole pins and rope to hold the oar, but don't like
the idea of the car topping the boat with the Thole pins in place. I'm
positive they will break off during the car topping procedure.
I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far there isn't any
metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize how I will keep the
oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also I'd like to avoid any
metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket and
remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose during
rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as breaking them off
every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold the
oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to the boat.
What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
TIA
See Ya
Have Fun
Bruce
www.myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson
The South Haven Dory is getting her last coat of spar varnish on the
bottom today. Then we are going to flip her and spar varnish the
inside. The last step in finishing her will be to install oar locks or
Thole pins.
That's the dilemma. Which to install. With no experience in boats at
all let alone rowing them we haven't a clue as to the pros and cons.
I like the idea of Thole pins and rope to hold the oar, but don't like
the idea of the car topping the boat with the Thole pins in place. I'm
positive they will break off during the car topping procedure.
I don't like the idea of metal oar locks since so far there isn't any
metal in the boat at all. (and I can't visualize how I will keep the
oar locks in the gunwales while rowing.). Also I'd like to avoid any
metallic sounds while rowing.
So are Thole pins permanently installed in the gunwales, or are they
removable. I could make them so they are a tight fit in the socket and
remove them for transport, but worry that they will work loose during
rowing, which would be as much of an inconvenience as breaking them off
every time I load and unload the boat.
How about oarlocks? Of the ones I've seen the method used to hold the
oar is obvious, what is not so obvious is how they are held to the boat.
What keeps them from jumping out of the socket while rowing?
Are there wooden oarlocks?
TIA
See Ya
Have Fun
Bruce
www.myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson