Well call me stupid and cheap (or just stupid) but I've decided that I would like to make my own oars. I have a few basic questions and one specific one:
1. When on refers to a"9 foot oar" is this the distance from the tip of handle to the tip of blade? -the boat is currently upside down and I wont be able to get it to the river before it freezes up to get a comfortable rowing length for the oars.
2) what is the most common outside diameter of the shaft? I presume most are using 2" diameter oars.
3) if going with a 1.75" diameter will the build up of larger diameter rope raps (to eliminate paly in the oarlocks) lead to a mushy feel at the grips.
4) What are peoples preferences on blade shape? I'm thinking of creating a blade (to fit in the composite shaft) that has little to no width taper.
5) could anyone provide me with dimensions of blades?