Is a 9 feet oar long enough for sculling E29?

The 9 feet is the longest oar what my local West Marine has. My A-4 is soon to be winterized but I plan to sail over the winter whenever weather permits.

What's your situation?

Glen, GOOD FOR YOU! You need to get'r out!
I noticed in your earlier "post" that you were pondering this issue before! It would be very helpfull to understand exactly what your situation is! Are you located @ a dock or on a mooring? How far do you have to move your boat, before sailing? My first boat was on a mooring and I had NO engine for over 5 years! They are "sailboats" after all! Enlighten us!

I am at a doc in a small 5 slip private marina.

It's on Whitehall creek, close to Whitehall Bay just north of Annapolis. The creek is not crowded with low traffic. I always used my o/b to get to the channel on the creek but I think I can scull to the channel easily.

The different question is whether the channel is wide enough for tacking upwind.

In this area we have pretty good days over the winter. Couple years ago we had 75 F on the New Year Day. Do not want to miss those days just because my A-4 is winterized -- that's why I am thinking about sculling (my old o/b became totally unrepairable).

Hmmm, creek huh? What about current? What about when the wind dies and you are 2 miles form home. Not to be a bummer but I would hate to see someone get stuck. A better idea may be to set up 2 oars to row home or spend a couple hundred on an older 4 hp OB. 70s and 80s models can usually be had for about 200-300 dollars.

Bigger than 9 feet

glen_dc said:

The 9 feet is the longest oar what my local West Marine has. My A-4 is soon to be winterized but I plan to sail over the winter whenever weather permits.

Click to expand...

In the white water rafting world, you can find shafts that are 10 feet long and blades adding more than two feet of additonal length. I don't know if that is what you need but here is a link from Northwest River Supplies - one of the biggest white water suppliers in the country.

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1309&deptid=982#Sizing

Your Lucky!

Your really lucky to have those days! I'll take the mid-fifties anytime! On my powerboat site folks in the EAST put their boats away(winterize) just for those really cold days(what-a-loss of time)! I Like Tim's real OARs idea! Better control and you can put your back-into-it! Is yours a wheel or tiller?

As mentioned before, an "electric trolling motor" might work! Check on e-bay or craigs-list.
I've got a 42#Minnkota-12v-transom mount(2 1/2" jaw), w/a 40" shaft. It's attached to my transom hung rudder. Pushes her along @ about 3k. Do you have shore power?

Do you have a good picture of your cockpit?

Sculling should be a perfectly adequate way to move your E29 around. I wouldn't want to try to row a boat that size though. What's the beam, about 9 feet? So you'd have 4' of oar inboard of the locks, and I'm sure you'd need 8' at least to get them into the water from your rails 3' up. Then you'd have to stand, and try to have any leverage rowing with those mammoth oars. I just can't see that working at all.

Lin and Larry Pardey have been cruising their wooden 30-footish boats around the world for decades with no motor. They use a sculling oar, and have no problems. I'd bet their boats weigh double what your E29 weighs!

However, I think you want to get/make yourself a proper sculling oar. It's not just a single rowing oar that you hang off the back of the boat. It's shaped differently.

Google sculling, or sculling oar, and you'll find lots of good info on the subject.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Have fun!

Oh, one more question. Is it really necessary to winterize your A4 in Maryland? Why not just put a lightbulb in the engine compartment? If you're in saltwater you probably wouldn't even need to do that.

I doubt about Minnkota...

Minnkota. I run the wizard on the www.minnkotamotors.com. The wizard does not offer any motors for "deep V fiberglass" boats. I have wheel, shore power and o/b mount (installed by PO). I know that you speak from your experience and I know guy who uses minn kota on his old 26' MacGregor but I am very skeptical about minnkota on E29.

Longer oars -- thanks for the link. The 12" oar looks much more attractive.

9 ft. beam Nate? I don't think my 35 has a 9 ft. beam at the cockpit. I would say a 29 is more lke 6-7 ft. at the cockpit. I have seen oars setup on a boat of this size before and it works quite well.

I don't care how great a sailor you are, if you rely on sculling you boat when not sailing, then you are very patient. There are deffinately conditions when sculling or rowing a 29ft. boat will be impossible and a motor is necessary to propel the boat. Currents, windage, etc.

sculling an E 29

Hi Glen,

Here are two web sights that might help: www.oarclub.org and www.atomvoyages.com In the last one, James Baldwin has taken his Triton 28 around the world twice and the power of choise? A 16' sculling oar. Go to his web sight and look under boat projects. Keep us posted as to how it works. Who knows, what with the price of fuel going up all the time, we all might be using one of these things. I think you might want to look at 14-16' instead of 9'.


Fair winds,

Chad

There are only a couple of drain plugs on the A-4 and you can replace them with petcocks and connect a vent T with a shutoff in the sea water pickup tube, make sure there is enough slack in the pickup tube to get it above waterline which is about the top of the engine cover.

You can raise the vent tube above water line, open the drain petcocks close the through hull run the motor for 20 seconds and you should be safe. To use the motor close the drains and vent, open the through hull and you are set to go.

I know the routine of antifreeze and all that; in fresh water I have never used it in 25 years of inboards. If you want to get antifreeze in the engine just purge the engine as above and then close the drains with the through hull closed stick the vent hose in a bucket with 50/50 and run the engine until you get the mix out the exhaust. I will pay $5.00 and spend 20 minutes prep for a day of sailing without trying to fight currents with oars any time.

You didn’t say if you could sail in and out. If you have a second person onboard and good conditions it is not that big a challenge.

so you're saying winterizing is easy...

I can sail in/out to my slip without problems. Well, it's not "sail in" per se. I can sail close enough to one of my poles, get a rope with my telescopic hook and pull my boat into the slip -- this is what I usually do.

This tricky place on the chart concerns me more than sailing in to my slip.
If you go upwind there is no place for tacking and you can hit ground (that's I already did).

So when I think that I need a long oar for sculling I mean that place. I am on the Minnow Creek (the first left) and there is plenty room for any maneuver.

But I've got your point - what you're saying basically winterizing / unwinterizing is easy. I agree but I think sculling would be a good backup plan for few tricky passages on my way home if my A-4 does not start or I am out of gas.

I like that, thinking ahead to the possible problems and planning for that moment. I think it's good that as a new boat owner you want to venture into alternative ways to get in and out of the slip. Good luck.

thanks for replies.

You are always very helpful as usual. BTW, folks at oarclub have good and very informative forum.

PS
Told my wife yesterday about sculling. She likes it a lot. Last spring we traveled to Italy (of course, been in Venice) for our wedding anniversary. Scull, honey, and make me feel like I am in Venice again..

Asolomeeo!

Glen, Good Luck, "educate" us when you get'r down!

After I thought about the "electric" for your boat I almost pulled the "post"(plug)!
I've got "electric" on the brain! I may be converting my E23.

Now you just need the right oar, a Gondolier shirt(w/the stripes) and a few Italian singing lessons!

BTW, Thanks for posting the chart, looks like a "beautiful place"! I have a good friend in Pasadena, MD.