How long should my oars be?

[Judders]

A mate of mine just asked me this and I really cant give him an answer.

Any ideas? As a proportion of tender length?

I've said it depends on how much space he has to row in and to go with whtever he is comfortable with but that wont help him much in the chandlers will it?

I think the tender is 9'. Must be 4' wide. What do we reckon, about 7'?

 

[ffiill]

So you can sit on seat with handles in front of your hands when held parallel to body and long enough so paddle ends engage with water.
Your average supplied plastic oars are usually totally useless-I lenghthened mine by over a foot and I have long arms.
When you put the oars forward before dipping in the water you should not be having to drastically lean forward with your arms splayed out to contact the water.

 

[VicS]

A mate of mine just asked me this and I really cant give him an answer.

Any ideas? As a proportion of tender length?

I've said it depends on how much space he has to row in and to go with whtever he is comfortable with but that wont help him much in the chandlers will it?

I think the tender is 9'. Must be 4' wide. What do we reckon, about 7'?

I think 7 ft will to too long unless the free-board is exceptionally high.

The oars for the Mirror dinghy, which is approx 4'10" beam, are 6'.

The oars for my little 8' tender which is approx 4' beam are 5'5".

Both seem to be about right. I did at at first us ethe Mirror dinghy oars for the tender but I found them Ok but just a bit too long.

PS I dont row with the hands overlapping each other.. I row with the oars not quite meeting in the middle of the boat.


BTW two part oars, as usually supplied with inflatables, are easier to stow on board and in the car boot.