Decent oars for inflatables

chal

chal

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My inflatable has those usual two-part aluminium and plastic oars, where the upper part has a plastic collar with a hole through it and that fits over a pin on the dinghy, then a plastic retaining nut holds them in place. The aluminium tube is a bit stronger than baco foil I suppose, but not all that much, and one of them broke last week where the hole is drilled through the collar, leading to a rather interesting getting ashore experience in a strong wind.

You can buy new ones readily enough, but they are about £35 and that's for another bit of rubbish. Is there a better option: either better quality oars that would fit the pins, or a way of replacing these with some sort of proper rowlock so I could use normal oars?

I'll probably replace the dinghy in a year or two but only with another cheapy so I'd like to be able to take better oars, if I find any, with me.
 
chal said:
My inflatable has those usual two-part aluminium and plastic oars, where the upper part has a plastic collar with a hole through it and that fits over a pin on the dinghy, then a plastic retaining nut holds them in place. The aluminium tube is a bit stronger than baco foil I suppose, but not all that much, and one of them broke last week where the hole is drilled through the collar, leading to a rather interesting getting ashore experience in a strong wind.

You can buy new ones readily enough, but they are about £35 and that's for another bit of rubbish. Is there a better option: either better quality oars that would fit the pins, or a way of replacing these with some sort of proper rowlock so I could use normal oars?

I'll probably replace the dinghy in a year or two but only with another cheapy so I'd like to be able to take better oars, if I find any, with me.
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I reckon you are stuck with what ever oars fit the dinghy.

No point in buying much better quality if you intend replacing the dinghy as the new one will most likely have different fittings that wont be compatible with the better new "old" oars.
 
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chal said:
Is there a better option: either better quality oars that would fit the pins, or a way of replacing these with some sort of proper rowlock so I could use normal oars?
Click to expand...

I have a supposedly high quality Zodiac inflatable floor 2.8m thingy with the same oars you describe. The oars are in fact not too bad (as those little paddles go).

But the spikey oarlock fittings are truly hopeless -- any decent welly on the oars causes them to pop out. The only way to row it at a reasonable speed is with fast short and ridiculous looking little strokes -- a bit like those old speeded up clips form Benny Hill!
 
I have successfully beefed up a 'stress area' of alloy tubing on our 12ft RIB's launch trolley, which we dismantle and put in the RIB once launched.

I inserted a length of smaller o/d alloy tube (it doesn't need to be anything like a snug fit) until it 'straddled' the stress point & held there by a rubber plug in the larger tube. Stand the whole thing vertical and fill with West epoxy resin from the plug up to the top of the stress area.

In your case you would have to put tape around the hole in the oar to keep the resin inside until cured, then drill through.

My 'fix' is still fine after 7 seasons.

Hope this helps.
 
another solution is : you can easily remove the pin type assembly from the tube and the fit a more standard type rowlock hole thingy similar to old avons and then you can use any oars you like , ive often thought of doing this myself , but never got round to it .

to remove patch with pin judicous use of a heat gun or hair dryer will allow it to be peeled off , stick new one on with recomended glue and bobs your uncle , you could even swap them round when changing dinghy and put on your new one .


moving patches etc is suprisingly easy , I did it on an avon when outboard bracket distances were different .


something like this , looks like this company may have everything you need , http://www.ibsparts.co.uk/54-rowlocks-blocks-oar-paddle-holders


hopefully you will get my drift on this

Cheers
 
markhomer said:
to remove patch with pin judicous use of a heat gun or hair dryer will allow it to be peeled off , stick new one on with recomended glue and bobs your uncle , you could even swap them round when changing dinghy and put on your new one.

moving patches etc is suprisingly easy , I did it on an avon when outboard bracket distances were different .
Click to expand...

That's a very good idea -- I had no idea those patches were so easy to remove.
 
If you want a decent rowlock, google 'Polymarine' who stock them & all the other gubbins that you may need, they are helpful & understand what it is that you want. As previously stated, it I'd not a difficult job.
 
maxi said:
If you want a decent rowlock, google 'Polymarine' who stock them & all the other gubbins that you may need, they are helpful & understand what it is that you want. As previously stated, it I'd not a difficult job.
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The polymarine ones are well made at about £35-if you do buy new ones go for the longer option as just an extra foot makes an enormous difference to the rowing action.
 
Slowtack said:
Timber oars, drilled for the rowlock pin, easier to row - longer stroke
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But surely the whole idea of having a hole in the oar, at the point of maximum stress is a nonsense. Much better to have the Avon type rowlocks, which also allow the oars to be pulled inboard to clear obstructions, seaweed etc.
 
+1. This question comes up quite often. I can't begin to understand why inflatable manufacturers choose to vary their rowlocks much from Avon's design - really rugged, yet flexible and grippy, and they allow the oar to be pulled in when required...

View attachment 41211

I'd never buy an inflatable with the dismal excuse for rowlocks used by lots of cheap & cheerless designs.

I was amazed to see funny little oars on sale at Force 4 recently. Some of them looked suitable for kids' beach boats. I can't picture a real dinghy making useful progress with those.
 
My dinghy has pins so I just used them.
The hole stress effect is negligible in a solid timber oar of that section diameter.
I just got tired of short light aluminium oars with electrolytic corrosion at the joints from use of dissimilar metals - aluminium section and stainless spring buttons.
Timber of slightly longer length is more durable and easier to row properly I find.
No problems since, just varnish about every 4 years.
 
Are those really useable? I had the feeling - thinking back many decades to boyhood - that oars less than 5ft long are pretty close to useless. Are they available that small for a reason, or is it just economy? :confused:
 
I don't know what it is with dinghy rowlocks but they are rollocks generally. We have a not bad design from zodiac about 30 years old with a sturdy metal pin on a swivel. It is held into place with an uneccesary wedge and pin feature which has always looked dangerously spikey for an inflatable. I recently changed the oars and simply screwed the fitting onto a timber oar that splits in the middle for stowage. I have tried all the modern style rowlocks and they generally leave you on your back on the bottom of a wet dinghy with your feet in the air. I would have thought this was a fundamental part of the design but maybe everyone uses outboards now?
 
pmagowan said:
I have tried all the modern style rowlocks and they generally leave you on your back on the bottom of a wet dinghy with your feet in the air. I would have thought this was a fundamental part of the design but maybe everyone uses outboards now?
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I have used this type of "pin-rowlock" on an Achilles for 30 years

http://shop.inflatableboatparts.com/product.php?productid=754&cat=48&page=2

and never had a problem.

I have no experience of the Avon style rowlocks, but one advantage of the one above is that the oar is always attached to the boat, so not easily lost.
You cannot feather the blades, though.
 
dancrane said:
Are those really useable? I had the feeling - thinking back many decades to boyhood - that oars less than 5ft long are pretty close to useless. Are they available that small for a reason, or is it just economy? :confused:
Click to expand...

If you mean the wooden ones in the link, they're available in different lengths. I just picked those at random.
 
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