can i row this ?

simonfraser

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hi, outboard just broke, made me think, my trimaran weighs 1.3 T and has a reasonable rowing position at the stern

assuming not too much wind could i row this into the tide for a short distance ?

and whilst on this topic are there rollocks that clip onto mooring cleats or do i need to drill more holes into my boat ?

thanks
 
Rather you than me..... rather depends on tide/wind strength at the time I think..... we had trouble trying to paddle mine (19' ca. 3/4tonne) I would rather get the outboard fixed.
 
You would be much better getting a big sweep and sculling. I have sculled boats far heavier than yours. Considering it should be just to get back to the mooring you should be able to give it some welly for a good few minutes before you collapse in a heap of sweat.

Not to say you can not scull for longer periods, you can get up a nice cruising speed and get into a comfortable stride for long periods, I am just thinking about pushing a bit of current on the way back to a mooring or (spit spit) pontoon.

Advantages include better steerage and being able to see where you are going.

The more I think about it the better this seems, when sculling a tender you loose a lot of forward motion as the boat swings side to side, with a multihull all the forward push should push forward, if it is a tristar you have I can imagine quite a comfortable position mounting alongside your rudder and sitting on the rail if you have one.

It is also a good skill to learn!
 
I went through this process a few years ago. My top tips:
LONG oars - I have 14ft on mine, though I'm guessing you might get away with 12ft, depending on how narrow and low your central hull is.
Add some weight to the inboard ends of the oars, so that they balance in the rowlocks - it reduces the effort you make in lifting them in and out of the water.
Arrange your rowing position so that you face forwards, this way, you can lean into the oars and use your bodyweight, rather than musclepower, to move the boat - not so fast, but you can keep going for much longer.
As for rowlocks, I was lucky in having a substantial bulwark to bolt them to. I can row Frangipani (25ft and 5 tons) at about 1.5 knots, should I need to: after all this effort, the 50 year old Stuart Turner hasn't missed a beat in 8 years - sod's law really!
 
I scull my 22 foot lifting keel monohull short distances at about 2 knots.I wouldnt want to keep it going for more than 10 minutes ,very usefull now and then manouvering in a crowded space.
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Yes i leave my O/B home through most of the season but do carry oars. Definitely need as long as possible. I have jointed oars so they can be stowed. For rowlock I have a pushpit with side rails that come down to the deck at a slope about a metre forward of the transom. This corner of the rail and gunwhale makes ready made rowlocks although it does wear the wooden toe rail a bit. One person can acheive 2 knots in still conditions. A contrary tide of 2 knots and you go nowhere. Any sort of wind and you must sail cos you can't row very well. good luck olewill.
 
Ever heard of a 'Yuloh'? Its apparently the traditional Japanese fishermans version of single oared sculling, and devotees claim remarkable speed with similarly remarkable endurance. It cosists of a long oar mounted on a ball shaped pivot which gives it the rolling action needed to propelt the boat. All you need is to push it to and fro to obtain speeds of several knots.


Do Google for YULOH to find out more.
 
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