Adding row locks to an 18ft trailer sailer.

[steve yates]

I ran out of fuel 200 yes from my mooring last week, with breeze on the nose and no room to tack ( she tacks like a dog anyway) , was reasonably successful at first towing her in the inflatable, till the wind piped up another notch. By the time I had tried some foresail and tacking and realised that was a no go, and dropped the anchor, she was a quarter mile back. Cue row ashore and get a lift to Kyle from my mate for some fuel before sorting her out.

It occurred to me that as I have 7ft long oars ( they separate in the middle for stowage) and if I could make headway towing in a dinghy with climbing rope as a painter, I could certainly have rowed her straight up to the mooring, if I had the means of doing so.

So has anyone put row locks of some kind on their small boats? Any suggestions or ideas? What not to do, what I should do etc?
On the dinghy the row.ock is a spike the oar drops onto and is secured by a cap, would the same idea be best or a conventional half cup type idea?
I reckon the addition of a small box in the cockpit as a bridge deck to give me a seat, with the hatch to lean against and the end of the cockpit to brace my feet on would enable me to row in reasonable comfort,
but I have no clue as to what or where or how when it comes to the row locks.

Thx

 

[DownWest]

Very common. You need to make sure that you can lean back at the end of the stroke. With higher oarlocks, one could do it looking forward, standing up, which gives a few advantages..Popular in Maine.
There is also the sculling method, with a single long oar. Works fine on boats of similar size in Brittany and most boats have a notch or your 'half cup' idea fitted as standard. I saw many using them at the festival there. Not so wide as rowing, if things are crowded.

 

[ProDave]

A few weeks ago I was out sailing with a friend who also rows. We were becalmed for a while and didn't want to put the motor on so we paddled, Indian canoe fashion with a hand held oar each.

Progress was slow but it was a bit of fun and it kept us going until the wind returned, but I don't think I would want that as my means of propulsion to get me up wind to a mooring.

 

[JumbleDuck]

So has anyone put row locks of some kind on their small boats? Any suggestions or ideas? What not to do, what I should do etc?

I have oars as the only mechanical propulsion on my Hunter 490 (4.9m/16'). From that experience

• Get the longest oars you can possibly carry. They will still be too small. That's because the rowlocks are MUCH higher up on a small yacht than on a rowing boat, and the vertical distance to the water loses a lot of oar length. I have 2.4m8' oars because the Hunter has no side decks and those are the longest I can fit into the cabin ... with one end right up at the bow the other end misses the companionway by 3" as it swings in. I have only found jointed oars up to 1.8m ... if you find any longer ones, and preferably longer than 2.4m, please let me know. I'd prefer to use oars about 3m/10' long.
• The Hunter came with waterproof rowlocks - the socket was closed at the bottom. Unfortunately there was only one crutch, and I couldn't find anything similar, so I had to replace them with standard rowlocks, which would leak if submerged or rained on, so I leave the crutches in place. Some day I'll sort that, eaither by finding better rowlocks or by extending these ones with a short piece of tubing and a blanking plug.
• It takes a lot longer to get up speed in a small yacht, but once you're going it's pretty easy.
• Wind up your keel. Less effort and easier to steer.

 

[sarabande]

thole pins, Dear Steve, try thole pins.

 

[Seajet]

Jumbleduck is right, you need really long oars, preferably solid one piece jobs as jointed ones will flex at the join.

I and a chum tried rowing my Anderson 22 in a flat calm, using standard 6' oars with boathook and spin pole lashed to extend them; we went nowhere, the lashed oars were still too short and just flexed.

Useful long solid oars would probably need to be lashed on the side or main deck or they'd take up your whole cabin.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

A friend had an 18 ft yacht derived from a converted clinker lifeboat with a very old Kelvin engine which had a mind of its own when it came to starting. He carried two oars which were about 9 to 10 ft long. His boat was very heavy having a deep external concrete keel but once he got it moving he could make good progress. So to answer your question, yes it would be worth doing.

 

[Keith 66]

I rowed our Sabre27 when we first got her & launched with a dead engine. It was calm in the marina but a 16ft whaler sweep moved her into her temporary berth easily, just held to the winch with a line. You just have to work out how you are going to do it & be prepared to swop the sweep to the other side!

 

[doug748]

Excellent question.

I can only agree with my esteemed colleagues.

I tried rowing a Hurley Silhouette with short oars and found it not very rewarding, as Seajet says. DownWest has the right idea sculling looks more stylish, less tiring and only needs one oar and crutch.

Can't do it myself, must learn

 

[Greenheart]

Lots of excellent advice above.

My boat's 17ft 6...big enough to be mentioned in the same breath with mini-cruisers...but probably less than a quarter the weight...

...still, when I had to row against the tide a month ago, I learned new respect for how easily she sails, because the hull isn't nearly as easily driven as I had supposed. It can be done, but it's an effort and she really doesn't go far, per stroke.

But, I've discovered I only ever need the oars when I haven't brought them, so now they are slung under the gunwale on every trip.

Mine are 8ft. That's just long enough, although 9ft would certainly be better. 7ft will be completely hopeless for a yacht.

I learned early on that she tracks abominably without the centreboard slightly lowered...so, while Jumbleduck is right about reducing drag, you may find your trailer-sailer rather wayward without at least some of the keel down.

Actually, I know that in terms of effort required, versus progress made, nothing is more effective and efficient than waggling the pivoting rudder blade from side to side...35 years ago I did three-mile circuits of the harbour in my Topper, without using the sail...

...the only reason I don't waggle the Osprey's tiller is my fear of breaking something costly. That Topper was indestructible. But a single really long oar and a robust pivot-point on the transom, might easily be the best, quietest, greenest auxiliary for Steve's boat.

 

[duncan99210]

I have a single rowlock in the stern of my Hurley 18. It's an inherited fixture and I don't have a suitable oar to use in it yet but it's on the acquisition list. I take note of the guidance about length: anyone any ideas about how long I should be aiming for?

 

[lenten]

i have got a fat 15 foot x 6 foot open boat ---higher freeboard than dancranes picture--i use 10 foot oars ----seem about right length---bl--dy hard work against any tide

 

[ningcompoop]

Have a look at this, about 1 min in...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH4eSZ7rhqA
... and this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dceYiJDQoNo

John

 

[DownWest]

Thats a Yuloh (sp) very common in SE Asia, usually on a much bigger boat than 18ft and worked by a lightweight female...

One of the Dinhy Cruising Asc guys was here last week and rowed his Drascombe with a nice pair of long carbon fibre oars, sitting in proper gate rowlocks. Very effective.
As for stowage, I have seen the odd boat with the oars lashed to the shrouds. Might effect the windage though.

 

[steve yates]

Thanks all, looks like I should learn how to scull
The oars would really only be for a similar occasion. It occurs to me now, with hindsight of course, I could have bodged some row locks with a sling round a cleat or stanchion base, and had them ready to go into action as soon as the engine sputtered and died, making use of the forward momentum and just keeping it going.

Bugger.

 

[Greenheart]

Of course, if your rudder pivots, and assuming the bolts, stock, tiller and your transom are solidly constructed, it's worth experimenting with 'sculling' the partly raised rudder.

It may look odd but the motion creates a lot of drive. Fine for short distances, in the circumstances you described, running out of fuel short of the mooring...just what's needed.

 

[lw395]

I've done a bit of rowing against the tide in certain 20ft racing keel boats. You need long stiff oars, room to move and a good seating position relative to the rowlocks.
It does work, but I think the oars and rowlocks weigh more than a fully fuelled 2 hp yamaha.
Cruisers will probably be more difficult because of the higher freeboard.
A really big strong canadian type paddle is also effective.
The ones stand-up paddleboarders use might be OK.
A paddle is much handier for getting off a pontoon etc too.
But oars are better for punting...

 

[DJE]

+1 for the longest oars you can possibly carry. I used to row a Wayfarer back in the day with a pair of 8' oars - the longest that would fit in the cockpit.
6' of their combined 16' length was the beam of the boat leaving ony 5' each side to reach the water and get some emersion of the blade.

 

[Greenheart]

I've done a bit of rowing against the tide in certain 20ft racing keel boats...I think the oars and rowlocks weigh more than a fully-fuelled 2 hp Yamaha.

Not sure about that. My 8ft oars are hefty wood, but the pair (and my robust chromed rowlocks) aren't more than four or five kilos.

Just guessing...did you row a Flying15? :biggrin-new: That sort of thing riles members at my club, where the purity of sail in racing classes, is a bit too rigidly observed for my taste.

I used to row a Wayfarer back in the day with a pair of 8' oars - the longest that would fit in the cockpit.
6' of their combined 16' length was the beam of the boat leaving only 5' each side to reach the water and get some immersion of the blade.

I bought my oars from Captain Popeye, of this parish, years ago. He'd had a 9ft pair but they weren't in the best condition, so I was happier buying the eight-footers. They just fit in the Osprey's cockpit, but the gunwale overhang makes a much better stowage location - they're held in place with light shockcord loops, ready for action in about 15 seconds.

I could have stowed longer oars this way. I wouldn't let stowage influence the length I used, because too short means I'd never use them at all. They strap on easily enough, outside gunwales or stanchions, without causing an intolerable obstruction.

I found in the chop a few weeks back, that as the boat rolled, the blade of one oar often wasn't in the water...not easy to adjust the timing of the stroke to ensure steady thrust...

...but longer oars would have reduced the problem.

 

[steve yates]

Of course, if your rudder pivots, and assuming the bolts, stock, tiller and your transom are solidly constructed, it's worth experimenting with 'sculling' the partly raised rudder.

It may look odd but the motion creates a lot of drive. Fine for short distances, in the circumstances you described, running out of fuel short of the mooring...just what's needed.

Oh, I never even thought of that!