Oars on a Cruiser

G

Grazer

New member
Has anyone mounted oar locks and propelled a C-dory using oars? Given the light weight (relatively) of the boat and having the main motor extended out of the water, one should be able to oar a C-Dory. If it's been done, I am interested to here from those who have this set up. Sitting position, oar lock location etc.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Grazer
 
I could see it on a 16 Angler, may be the 16 Cruiser. I carry a canoe paddle on my 22 and have used it for some maneuvering, but as a propulsion mode for more than a 100 feet, I doubt the practicality.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP2234.thumb.jpg
 
Lin and Larry Pardee use a large scull on their Bristol Channel Cutter, but that is a full keel boat. I suspect a sweep would give a CDory momentum, but holding a course would be nearly impossible.

Using oars isn't going to be fun either.
 
A canoe paddle came with my boat (so did a kicker). Trying to use it was comical. You can turn the boat a little, but in any wind it just does what it wants. I don't imagine oars would be a ton better, but certainly would offer more control and power.
 
One problem for a C Dory is going to be the beam vs. the height of the gunwale vs. the hull length. On my 16, the beam is about 6 feet. That means that an oar would need to be about 3 foot from the oar lock to the handle. But with a 2 foot gunwale height, I would need an additional 7 or 8 feet to get from the oarlock to the water at a reasonable angle for rowing (otherwise, I would be rowing with the handles above my head). Where to store two 11 foot oars on a 16 foot boat? They could break down in half, with "break" being the operable word when trying to row a 1,000# boat with considerable windage.

It's a crazy idea and would keep me busy while salmon trolling, so of course I've thought about it. But not seriously enough to want to drill holes in the deck to mount oarlocks and try it.

Mark
 
There are two follys in rowing a boat I've learned:

1. Rowing a light inflatable dinghy in the wind

2. Trying to row a power/sail boat

The USCG may like the idea but it is useless in practice.

Rowing might best be applied to kayaks, canoes and the like.
War canoes are no longer in vogue. Slave sailing ships are definitely out.

My thoughts: go modern with a sail or reliable serviced motor.
For back up use luck, your VHF or a friendly known currant.

Aye.
 
Thanks for all the replies and comments. Of course, I was not thinking of a practical solution for sole source propulsion system, but rather something to employ when the canoe paddle doesn't work. I agree that a 10' modern oar like the ones used in white water rafts would be the best choice here. I am just wondering if anyone out there in C-dory land has ever tried this.
 
I have thought about this numerous times. Glad to see someone else did.

The oars would have to be extremely long to get to the water at a reasonable flat angle. The oars would likely have to be custom made as they would have to be very strong. The lever action and stress on the oar would be great.

Picture the vikings rowing their craft. The 22 c-dory would likely row quite nicely once you got moving.
 
No wind, no current, no wave action, maybe.

A few years ago I ran out of gas less than a half mile from my marina. Considering all solutions I thought about rowing for about a second! At the time the CG was issuing squall warnings on the VHF to give you an idea of the conditions. My 20' Stingray has a lot less windage than a Cdory and even with my main and secondary anchor set - we probably dragged 50 to 100 yards. SO,,, unless you find some glass flat water, able bodied crew, etc.......

Geometry/leverage plays a big part in rowing. Distance from oar locks to water and from oar locks to rower. You also need a good seat and place to brace your feet. If you have more strength in legs than upper body a sliding seat helps.

I saw a kayak once that had foot pedals that spun a propeller - now that was cool. :smiled

Regards, Rob
 
I've been going to try rowing my 22 for awhile now. Don't have the oars but I may yet make some 10' and give a try. Too much windage to go up wind and any kind of slop would be a pain but I'm sure that standing and rowing would work. On a calm morning it would be a good way to get some aerobic exercise in. Might even keep me off a beach in an emergency!
 
I have done a lot of rowing--and in fact my fathers 26 foot sailboat was propelled with both sweeps, and a sculling oar on occasions. My grandfather routinely rowed his 30 foot cutter, with 18 foot sweeps and thole pins.

Not really practical, but if anyone in S. Calif is serious, there are two sets of 14 to 18 foot sweeps in my aunts garage.

I woud stand, facing forward, and use thole pins, not oar locks to row a C Dory. As others noted it would not be easy, but could be used very productively running a river with the motor up.

Your speed would be in the 2 to 3 knots max. Very difficult agains wind and waves.

Where do you store those 14 to 18 foot oars? (I used 9 foot oars to tow my 9' Fatty Knees dinghy.) I don't believe 10 foot any where long enough for the c Dory.
 
I am an oar on my boat. Got me unstuck from shallow water a couple of times, but I wasn't trying to get to a particular place. I just stand on the swim step.
 
I used a set of ten foot spruce oars, commercially produced, and conventional oarlocks set on the coamings of a 20.5 ft inboard Bartender with some success.

As others mention, you need long oars to get the blades in the water. I rowed from a standing position jusr forward of the CG, or sitting on the engine box, midships. Two of those events were unplanned and unanticipated. In each case, the oars moved the vessel along at a ripping 1.5 knots, in light air. The boat was very maneuverable and easily turned. But, the windage of the boat, considerably less than a 22 ft C-Dory, would have easily overpowered the oars. They would be useful in altering its wind-driven course, but unable to row to windward in a headwind of more than about 5 knots.

The oars would help to reach protected waters downwind of an engine failure, and would allow you to select which end of the boat you want to beach. My unplanned rowing events in one case got the boat from an open marina over to a float, just 30 yards away when I wrapped the bow line in the prop, and in another case extracted me from a very muddy lee shoreline when I did not want to run the wngine for fear of striking rocks embedded in the mud. Without the oars, in both events, I would have been up that proverbial creek.

Here are a couple shots of the layout, for the curious.

Rowing sitting on the engine box:
http://www.pbase.com/bartenderdave/image/92098087

Oarlock located on coaming: http://www.pbase.com/bartenderdave/image/92098085

Should not be too big a stretch to do something similar in a 22 C-Dory. A 25? Not likely to work well, owing to the greater beam and greater reach to the water. A 16 would be easy.
 
The topic title really caught my eye. I thought about it many times but never got around to it. I always boated on the Mississippi River and would do it not for propulsion but it would be a great way to keep a peacefully drifting boat in the channel and away from occasional barges and other traffic. Also a safety measure to have some steering in the event of engine failure.
 
One aspect of packing some backup oars that might keep you out of real trouble would be to simply keep the bow pointed towards the waves. You wouldn't be able to concern yourself with making headway, but you might be able to keep your boat from broaching if your engine failed in heavier seas. Maybe.
 
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