working out oar lenght

[Luc]

Hi all,

Any advice / method used to work out the right lenght for a set of oars? :P

Thanks in advance.;D

Luc

[Noelm]

don't think there is a formulae or anything, but as a general rule, the oars should just meet/miss in the middle, and be long enough to be able to row without having to lift them up too high, or lower them too low in the centre, so the position of the rowlock "thing" needs to be looked at as well as the overall length.

[tunaticer]

I thought the rule of thumb for length was 1 1/4 the width of the boat gunnel to gunnel. Positioning of the rowlock rubbers should be so that the ends of the handgrips of the oars are about 2" apart when nested in the rowlocks and held pointing each other.

[Luc]

Thanks for the info.

Based on my tinnies width, I would need 7 feet oars.

Luc

[cormorant]

Just long enough to hit the shark eating your outboard but not long enough to overbalance you in the process

Ask the bloke who swam to shore not that long ago as I reckon he now knows the perfect size and won't get it wrong again.