Oars

I had intended that my next post be the laying of the teak deck; however this has been delayed because of challenges that I will allude to in due course. In the meantime this interim post regards the construction of the oars, yes the plural! Francois Vivier’s design included just one sculling oar to be carried aboard Beniguet, but as I have previously stated in my post last December, I have fitted rowlocks to give me the option of rowing. The drawings give the dimensions only, with no recommendation as to their construction. I concluded that they would be structurally more stable and stronger if made up in four pieces. I used ash as recommended, grooving the mating faces and inserting a tongue throughout, after gluing with epoxy they produced a solid structure. They were then shaped down to the design profile by chisel and plane then, again making good use of my home made mast sanding tool, I rounded the shafts or looms. Following varnishing, a leather sleeve will be stitched to the looms for a wearing surface and protection against the rowlocks or transom notch.

This shows how I jointed the blades of the oars with the shaft or loom, 

tapered to a point rather like a cricket bat.

Glued up prior to shaping

The finished articles. Note the sheathed tips to reinforce the ends to prevent splitting or damage.

The other item to the right is a seat for rowing, this will span the cockpit.