Oars instead of engine musings.

[Tintin]

With my elderly underpowered and decidedly unreliable engine, I have been thinking about other means of propulsion for getting into and out of harbours and moorings when the wind has gone home for the day.

As part of my musings my thoughts have turned to using either two sweep oars, or a single sculling oar.

Yacht is a Leisure 27 fin keel.

Would you go for sweeps or sculling?

And if sweeps, would you go for a forward or backward rowing position, sitting or standing, and where...cockpit, coachroof, fwd of mast?

Sweeps seem best for manoevering, but a scull aft would allow me to use the tiller, but what about going backwards?

Fwd of mast with two long sweeps seems the best, but storage of the oars is "interesting".

Thoughts?

 

[mikeinkwazi]

With my elderly underpowered and decidedly unreliable engine, I have been thinking about other means of propulsion for getting into and out of harbours and moorings when the wind has gone home for the day.

As part of my musings my thoughts have turned to using either two sweep oars, or a single sculling oar.

Yacht is a Leisure 27 fin keel.

Would you go for sweeps or sculling?

And if sweeps, would you go for a forward or backward rowing position, sitting or standing, and where...cockpit, coachroof, fwd of mast?

Sweeps seem best for manoevering, but a scull aft would allow me to use the tiller, but what about going backwards?

Fwd of mast with two long sweeps seems the best, but storage of the oars is "interesting".

Thoughts?

Consider sweeps, standing looking forward in the cockpit. Oars through loose ropes around winches, easy to reach tiller. You will not make any headway against a wind or 1, 2 knots of tide, but I have used this method in the past.

 

[NormanS]

Nothing to stop you rowing or sculling. I think I would scull, and if so, you won't need the tiller, as you steer as you scull. I think you might struggle to scull astern, though. Big problem might be where to stow a long enough oar.

If you row, pushing or pulling will depend on your layout, and where you can position rowlocks, and whether you can get the blades out of the water.

In quiet conditions, either method would get you there.

 

[Woodlouse]

I think under 30 feet sculling is the best bet. Certainly the traditional craft of Brittany seem to think so. Between 30 and 40 feet I think you can go either way depending on displacement and above 40 feet I've only ever seen engineless boats use oars.

Sculling I think is less efficient, but easier single handed. Once you get proficient then it's possible to get a fair bit of speed on. If you want to go backwards then lash the helm and mount the scull off the bow, but I think turning round would be easier. Generally with a scull you'd steer with that rather than the tiller.

The other advantage of sculling is you only need to find space for one oar.

 

[LittleSister]

The other advantage of sculling is you only need to find space for one oar.

I think you would usually only use a single sweep. Needs to be good and long, I believe - much longer than a dinghy oar (stow along the toe rail).

From Maurice Griffiths and other such writers I gained the impression that you wouldn't get (or try to get) much speed (and certainly not acceleration)- you'd be aiming for a nice steady relaxed pace which, they claimed, you could comfortably keep up for a long period. (Mind you, those were the days when men were men...)

 

[Woodlouse]

I think you would usually only use a single sweep. Needs to be good and long, I believe - much longer than a dinghy oar (stow along the toe rail).

From Maurice Griffiths and other such writers I gained the impression that you wouldn't get (or try to get) much speed (and certainly not acceleration)- you'd be aiming for a nice steady relaxed pace which, they claimed, you could comfortably keep up for a long period. (Mind you, those were the days when men were men...)

The bretons seem to favour a relatively short sweep for sculling. Certainly shorter than the length you'd require for rowing, and with a spade type handle. I'll see if I can dig out a picture or two.

 

[capnsensible]

Just get a new engine.

 

[Searush]

Make yourself a Yuloh. developed over thousands of years & much more efficient than rowing or sculling with an oar. It's also easy to stow as it can bend to follow the curve of the gunwhale for storage.

Oh, & read Charles Stock, "Sailing for fun". The trick is to use your anchor & tides to maximum effect as the old sailing barges etc used to. Or get hold of any of Dan Street's books/ videos he was another "no need for engines" sailor.

Don't forget that you can steer down tide by drudging, so you can enter a harbour at half flood by allowing the fouled or capsized anchor to slow down your drift & steer with the tiller in the current. OK, so you enter stern first, but under control, & if you have some way of tripping or releasing the anchor from the cockpit, you can stop too.

 

[Topcat47]

I remember being hugely impressed by RYA Young Skipers in Hunter 22's who went out and about in all weathers without engines. They mostly did stuff under sail but carried a couple of long sweeps for when becalmed.

i also watched a french guy scull a 22footer into Braye Harbour one year. Kudos!

 

[Uricanejack]

Just get a new engine.

Probabaly the sensible plan.

yet I cant help admire the chap and his dog. who I encountered several times in diferent local haunts. In dreadlocks, rainbow hat, tie dyed homspun in an antique little GRP cruiser with patched sails and a paddle. one small step abouve homeless. I'm sure he gets by entirly on my taxes but so what. As long as he doesn't play bongoes I'd not grudge a bit of spare change.

Ps my boat was only very slightly newer than his and debatable about which was better. I did have an outboard though.

 

[Greenheart]

Just get a new engine.

Such a boring outlook! Lots of interesting options for small-boat owners are overlooked by this kind of unimaginative 'default' instinct.

So much of sailing is harder work, or less convenient than alternative methods of floating about. It's only worth taking the time to tune a rig and raise sails because of the reward we sense for doing so, rather than just pushing a button and enduring the diesel noise.

But why sail at all? Just fit a new engine.

 

[claymore]

Well, I've done some rowing in a 3 peak race or two. Completely knackering but the best method we found was to sit on the companionway hatch with rowlocks slotted into the top of the coachroof winches. The sweeps came from a rowing 8 and were lovely. Be a bit of a job around pontoons I think - am tending towards the boring and recommending a new engine.

 

[capnsensible]

Such a boring outlook! Lots of interesting options for small-boat owners are overlooked by this kind of unimaginative 'default' instinct.

So much of sailing is harder work, or less convenient than alternative methods of floating about. It's only worth taking the time to tune a rig and raise sails because of the reward we sense for doing so, rather than just pushing a button and enduring the diesel noise.

But why sail at all? Just fit a new engine.

An engine is to stop death when you are too knackered to row in no wind. Also to stop you breaking your boat when you park it. Does not replace sails.....

 

[Jaguar 25]

Rudder for sculling?

Can you not use your rudder for sculling? Used to get some propulsion in a dinghy by waggling the tiller but never tried it my Jaguar.

Also, you should always know all means of moving a boat even if it needs a good deal of effort for the speed produced. There are plenty of instances of engine failure when you have taken your sails down to come into a marina or mooring.

 

[Greenheart]

Can you not use your rudder for sculling? Used to get some propulsion in a dinghy by waggling the tiller but never tried it my Jaguar.

I used to go out in my Topper without a paddle and without the rig. Just pushing the rudder from one side to the other, in a partially-raised position, gave a great deal of thrust. But to do the same in a yacht would surely damage the pintles/gudgeons?

 

[Lucky Duck]

I have managed a reasonable turn of speed in calm conditions by sculling the rudder in a tiller steered Beneteau but my current boat has a wheel which seems to make it almost impossible to scull fast enough.

 

[Wansworth]

I had in my youth an Angus Primrose designed Commando Class built by Blanks boatyard,by the time I was the owner the engine was kaput so I heaved it out on the quay in Newport IOW and installed a sculling oar.This was about 15 foot long and made of Ash and whizzed the boat along in calm water at a good rip.

 

[Tintin]

So any ideas where to get an oar for sculling?

 

[Searush]

So any ideas where to get an oar for sculling?

So you don't fancy the cheap, simple & efficient idea of making your own flexible & easily stored Yuloh then? I'm pretty sure I first heard of them in an early Don Street video & Iolaire was NOT a small boat to move without an engine.

It's already been suggested that you try a local sculling club, you may find an old damaged, or just no longer competive, sweep for a pittance. You could add it to the windage & weight at the mast.

 

[NormanS]

I think for sculling over the stern, you want a relatively narrow bladed oar, without any "spoon", so an oar from a "sculling" club might not be very suitable. A strange thing is the English language, where quite often one word means totally different things.