oarlocks
RL Reno (rlreno@worldnet.att.net)
Mon, 06 Sep 1999 21:40:39 -0700
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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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A friend of mine that has sailed a P14 for many years has oarlocks in
about the same place described by previous posts. He is able to row
facing the rear of the boat seated on the threshold into the cabin but
prefers to row standing, facing forward with tiller between his knees.
I have the same setup on my P19, and have placed the oarlocks farther
aft than optimal when seated in the same position, simply so I do not
smash my elbows into the cabin. Since everyone will have their own idea
of correctness, I suggest getting a set of oars (West Marine has 8
footers) and temporarily securing them to the boat in various places
until a nice compromise is found before drilling holes for oarlocks.
Related to the oddities of placement, I just saw two brand new P19s
right out of the factory. Both were equipped with oarlocks, and with no
direction from the purchasers, the oarlocks placement is about a foot
different from one boat to the other!
Regarding using the things, what I have learned thus far are:
1. It is neat to row standing and actually seeing where I am going.
2. If there is a breeze, the motor is real nice.
3. Also, if there is a breeze, don't figure on having any control
without at least some of the centerboard down. (I nearly rammed a boat
at the Tahoe gathering relearning this point) The rudder is less
important and in real close quarters it is fun to rotate the boat on its
own axis with the oars while the rudder is stowed aboard.
Ron
HMS 18 #42 Bluebelle