[Public-list] Sumner fiberglass dingy question

[George Dinwiddie]

The "correct" length of oars is a function of the beam of the dinghy. 
Somewhere I've got a brochure that describes the formula, and I believe 
it works out to 7-1/2' oars for a 4' wide dinghy.

The formulas are designed for optimum rowing.  For a dinghy, there are 
other considerations.  I think I went with 6-1/2' oars, instead, since 
the 7' oars that I had bought cheap seemed so clumsy around the raft. 
Since learning to scull, it's not as big an issue, however.

I've seen oars as short as 4-1/2', but they're more work to use,  you 
have to andle the oar down a lot and, unless you use a captive oarlock, 
they tend to pop out.

  - George

P.S. See http://www.shawandtenney.com/sandtfaq.htm for this recommendation:

In short; take the span of your boat between oar locks, divide by 2 and 
then add 2 inches to that total.
Then, divide by 7.
Then, multiply by 25.
This gives you the length of oar in inches.
Optionally, dividing your oar length inches by 12 will give you an 
answer in feet.



Amy & David Swanson wrote:
> Hello all -
> 
> Does anyone have one of the Sumner 8-foot fiberglass dingys?  I just bought
> a used one that needs a set of oars, and I need to know how long the oars
> should be.  There is one other dingy like it at the marina where I keep my
> boat, but I do not know the owner.  That one has 6-1/2' oars, which seems a
> little long (my other dingy has 5-1/2" long oars).

-- 
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   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
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