Alternative propulsion

[Simon helene]

I have a 13 tons wooden cutter , Whith a North sea traditional type of stern ( triangular and pointy) so my question I'd, can I put two oars in the back or at the sides and be able to move it reasonably?
I ask because I have been engine clogged by the bugs , and was a fair weather day so I could have Been Oaring instead of calling the rescue , also wasn't wind at all so I couldn't sail.

 

[Tranona]

Unlikely you would make any progress. It is generally reckoned that a fit adult male could produce 1.2 hp (0.86kw) maximum and 0.2hp indefinitely.

The best alternative in those circumstances is to lash your dinghy and outboard alongside and you might get 2+ knots in flat water depending on your outboard size.

However your best investment is in an engine that works reliably - appreciate easy to say but not always easy to achieve!

 

[veshengro]

You don't state your boat size, length, beam etc: but she's probably fairly big at 13 tons. I think you will struggle with two oars long and stout enough to make rowing a realistic idea. You could try a single oar and master the art of sculling. It's not difficult, BUT once again being realistic, sculling in any sort of Tide, Current or unfavourable wind won't be an option. At 13 tons you will be fighting a losing battle against the elements. Successful if very slow in still, calm sheltered waters but any distance offshore, rowing or sculling 13 tons I would say is a non starter.

 

[Wansworth]

Drudging with the tide or current……laying out kedge anchour and pulling up to it or two kedges

 

[Simon helene]

Thanks , yes I imagine isn't a reliable thing , whith any current you will be just uneffective. Maybe whith 2 oars each side ,could do in fair condition, but never seen something like that in a Norwegian colin archer.
I got a 120hp ford275e pushing the 35 ft boat .

 

[Simon helene]

Great idea to pull yourself from the sea anchor!

 

[Wansworth]

I had asimilar vessel you have to be inventive and use old methods like running out long lines to bollards where you want to go,creating some forward momment hauling in anchour smartly ,heavy displacement craft carry on surprisingly once got going….

 

[veshengro]

I don't know what size or tonnage his second boat was, but the much travelled Canadian Sailor and Author Larry Pardey and his wife Lin, travelled many sea miles in their 24 foot self built wooden engineless boat, but even he only sculled for docking purposes in harbours and Marinas or under flat calm sea conditions close inshore.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Small craft in Nelson's navy could be rowed; up to the size of a small frigate. But they had massive crews, and even so it was such hard labour that the tradition of "the gentlemen haul with the sailors" cut in and even officers were expected to take a turn at the oars.

Its not just about the horsepower a human can exert, it's also about how efficiently it is coupled to moving the boat. In a racing eight, sliding seats and careful design of the oars etc. mean that the available power is used efficiently. But there's no way the human power available could be coupled efficiently in a boat the size and shape the OP describes. So the maximum power available to move the boat is even less than @Tranona says.

 

[neil_s]

Joshua Slocum did it on his Spray. If you read his book, there is a picture of him rowing the Spray out of the Yarrow river at Melbourne. He is using a single sweep over the starboard quarter while standing next to the wheel.

 

[Alan S]

Great idea to pull yourself from the sea anchor!

Kedge anchor, not sea anchor!

 

[LittleSister]

Yes, a single sweep would be more likely to succeed. It was a conventional way of moving quite large vessels in the days before engines. I seem to recall reading of Thames barges being moved by sweeps, and they had quite small crews.

I seem to recall Maurice Griffiths saying he could move one of his larger boats (but not 13 tons) at about one and a half knots once it got moving, and keep that up for quite a long time (i.e. progressing up a river, not just moving it around near a mooring or whatever). He was single handed, and I have the idea that he said he could set the tiller to compensate for the tendency of the sweep to turn the vessel, so didn't need to be constantly steering.

A sweep needs to be plenty long enough (much longer than a conventional oar), properly mounted in a strong rowlock (or whatever) at the pivot, and with a clear path for the 'rower' ('sweeper'?) to walk, facing forward, leaning into and pushing the handle end (as far a practicable from the rowlock) . You'll need a good grippy surface on the deck or whatever surface you're 'walking' on. You will get nowhere using your arms. You need to be using your legs (plus back/trunk) to be generating enough power.

.

 

[garymalmgren]

Lots of detail on sculling by Kevin Boothby.
I have been following his engineless sailing adventures for years now.
One point is that he HAS TO wait out unfavorable weather and work with the tides.

 

[garymalmgren]

More from Kevin on engineless.

 

[Simon helene]

That's what I should do on my boat is the same stern type and all wooden too.

 

[Simon helene]

Seems he got a fiberglass Hull, some tons less. Very good to learn that skill , in Norway is quite challenging since is crowded whith rocks under water .

 

[ducked]

Kedge anchor, not sea anchor!

Has some apparent positives. Angle will be more horizontal, lighter (maybe) though wetter, but you'd probably still need the kedge to hold you while laying out the sea anchor (unless flat calm with no current) so still depth limited