This new set of oars is based on the grant pattern for an Adirondack guide boat with a bunch of modifications.
To make the best use of precious materials and also to select for different properties in different parts of the oar I start with a Sitka spruce shaft which gets mostly shaped before I laminate on ash for the blades. This makes the oar much easier to build and also keeps things nice and light but tough at the tips.
Because I start with a square shaft, This oar can be shaped either rounded for normal oar locks or squared for pins. If pinning I drill out the handle and insert a half inch hardwood dowel and then drill for the pin down the center to keep the hole from widening and also rotting over time.
I’m trying something kind of crazy with the finishing on this one: using Rubio Monocoat instead of the normal buildup of seven coats of varnish. There’s no way this will be as durable as a good varnishing job but I don’t really care about bright work and if it wears well over the course of a couple years I might start doing it more and more.
The overall shape is decent but I think I’m going to rework my templates before the next set. It’s always surprising to me how much just tiny changes make a difference in the feel of an oar, trying to creep up to the fine line between perfect flex and too flexible.
The trickier thing for me is just designing systems so beginners can accomplish the same thing without having to go through the normal two or three sets of clunky oars before getting a good feel for things.
I really like the soft muted look of these two woods together, don’t have a picture of it right now but it really makes the bronze hardware glow by contrast.
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