# DIY Oars and Raft



## MountainmanPete (Jun 7, 2014)

Hey Buzzards, two DIY questions on one thread:

1- Has anyone ever made their own oars or considered trying it?
I have access to a full wood shop and have made a kayak paddle in the past.

2- I just picked up a 1.2 hp Gamefisher engine but I don’t have a motor mount
on my 14’ Hyside. Has anyone ever seen or experimented with making a motor mount to fit around the stern with plywood? I think it’s self evident that I would need to install some new d-rings but the motor only weighs like 15 pounds!

Thanks in advance!


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## jerseyjeff (Apr 16, 2016)

I have made oars, it is a ton of fun, bordering on therapy. and, wood oars are really nice to row with, there is a nice spring and the handles feel great. 
I have made two sets so far, one ash and cherry (that weight a TON) and one set that is ash and cedar (that I use all the time) I think the biggest trick is finding nice wood, and then having at it. I think I totally overbuilt my oars too, and will be trying again with lighter species this summer. 

I started by ripping all my stock into 1/2 by 2 inch strips on the table saw, and then ran them through a lunch box planer to make them flat. I laminated them all up using west system g-flex epoxy (it has a bit more give then the straight epoxy). If you can get the grain all running in one direction, 
it will make shaping much easier. I clamped every 8 inches. I also did all this on standoffs covered in kraft paper (easy to sand off) At the blade end I ran the center piece of wood short so I had a place to help fit the blades. 
I used a big 1/2 inch router to hog out the shafts, and then set to work with a a straight and curved spoke shave (that was amazing).
I shaped the blades with a combination of spokeshaves, hand tools, belt sander, and 5 inch grinder with a flappy disc. Good lung protection is really important for that. I used a cataract blade as a template. after the blades were shaped, I coated them with RAKA uv stabilized epoxy, and laid one layer of fiberglass on each side. I finished them with spar varnish (left the handles raw) and have been using them since. 
I may try to make a set out of spruce with ash blades this summer and see if I can get something lighter.

So, short answer, definitely, it is good fun, just use good adhesives!


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

Jerseyjeff, sounds like very nice oars. You ever heard of the Swan Hotel, off hwy 9 in Linden, I had a crash pad there for 14 yrs. When I commuted to Newark Airport. Looks like Plainfield is just a few miles away.


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## jerseyjeff (Apr 16, 2016)

Yep, Linden is pretty close to us, some decent food, but not a lot of green space. I am close to family but get to drive 1-5 hours for good water to boat


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## rtsideup (Mar 29, 2009)

I haven't built my own oars.

I have built an R1 paddle, kind of. My buddy had a professional paddle building company that he shuttered but still had all of the "stuff". He lined me out, I did the labor and gave him bourbon. 

I've given oars a lot of thought, and talked to him about it. The take away is that if you are doing this to save money, call Sawyer and give them your CC info. 

If I were going to build them myself, I would source glass or carbon (or blended) pipe online. That way I'd only have to shape the blades and handles. If he was into creating the tool paths for the CNC for bourbon, I'd make some make some molds out of MDF and use those to make the blades. If not I'd shape them by hand and use a vac bag for the composites.
Handles are easy.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

My dad has made his own oars before. Milled a 2x4 to make the shaft, plywood blades, was pretty cheap. Got him down the San Juan at least.

Ones Jeff describes sound way nicer.

Often the reason for making things yourself isn't to save money though. 
It is something of more value than money, kind of like running a river by yourself, instead of with an outfitter.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

*DYI oars*



jerseyjeff said:


> Yep, Linden is pretty close to us, some decent food, but not a lot of green space. I am close to family but get to drive 1-5 hours for good water to boat


Small world, we were boating neighbor's for 14 years, only to discover that through the Buzz, on the Internet . I started commuting to Newark in 1996 to do international flying, only stayed 4 to 5 days a month in Newark.......MountainPete we use to build our own oars out of Apiton wood. It was 2 in. x 2 in. by 8 ft. to 15 ft., depending on the raft length ( 15 ft. to 30 ft. rafts ). We would shave and sand to create the handles and cut a slot to insert the blade, than 2 to 3 bolts to hold blade. The only water proofing was exterior paint (probably contained lead). They would last forever, if the blade broke we would unbolt it and replace it with another. Back than we built all our own equipment, frames, oars, cargo boxes etc. We use them on Cat, Deso, Yampa, Green, Dolores etc. D9er an old boating buddy sent me some pictures of a raft we at RMRE built back in 1973, I believe. He did such a fantastic job of restoring it, I have to share it. It shows the oars.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Wow. Way cool Raymo!
Kinda makes more sense for the boater, if there if just one planned weak spot in the oar. Then you can just replace the broken piece, which seams to be the easiest to part to build?

Wheels turning for building my next set of oars, my Carlisles are getting pretty beat up...


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## salmonjammer (Dec 14, 2011)

*motor mount*

i made a motor mount out of bent conduit and plywood bent conduit all most all the way around welded chain link on top and used straps to keep mount from rolling, i could take photos tomorrow if interested


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## MountainmanPete (Jun 7, 2014)

Seems like there are two schools of thought here: laminated soft wood shafts, with handles carved in and hardwood blades laminated to the shafts AND some sort of a composite oar with the backbone of a fiberglass/carbon fiber shaft with turned handles, and wooden blades that are designed to be removed.

I have some really nice, clean, long and straight Doug Fir that I can use for the shafts. I’m fairly certain I could router out a modified half lap joint to connect an ash blade with glue or a mechanical connection. I think the crux for this would be making nice handles AND creating the connection to the oar lock. Pins and clips or sleeves? Sleeves would require the shafts be the correct dimension, yet I have never rowed pins and clips. Either which way I intend to rip the boards into square strips and laminate with the grain rotated 90 degrees for each strip so the grain opposes warping. Clamping will be done with a few bicycle inner tubes stretched tight. Definitely agree with the west system of epoxy for all structural connections. Blade geometry will be a fun challenge but I think I’ll create a router sled to put a taper in them from shaft to tip. 

I’m not interested in saving money as much as I’m interested in practing two ancient arts: woodworking and boating.


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## k2andcannoli (Feb 28, 2012)




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## jerseyjeff (Apr 16, 2016)

clean, straight and long doug fir? That is the holy grail, and I do not think I will ever see it in these parts. You may be able to laminate up the blades to the shaft without a half lap joint too. My next set of oars I will just glue the blades to the shaft. There has been a bit of research and destructive testing of glue joints, and usually the wood will rip apart at the grain, leaving the glue intact. there is a good write up here https://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/glue.html
I think that good laminations with a layer of glass over the top will look fantastic, and be ridiculously strong. I made a hardboard blade template, and then rough cut the blades with a jigsaw, and then finished the shaping with a belt sander. The profile was done with a spoke shave, and that was fantastic, as you pull the shave, ribbons of wood roll off leaving smooth grain exposed. Making a good jig to hold the oars above the bench makes for easier shaping. I am going to mill some black walnut for accent strips later this week for the next pair of oars. 
I am an oarlock guy, and shaved my shafts down to take sleeves, and that has worked fine for me. There are folks that will also do a rope wrap, and that can look pretty awesome too
Sawyer has a bit of info on it, and a darn scary lathe that you can see here
OAR ROPE WRAPPING GUIDE

Have fun and post pictures!


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## smhoeher (Jun 14, 2015)

The motor mount my father made for our boat was out of wood. Wish I had a picture. He had some redwood but it could be any wood or plywood as long as they are treated. He basically custom engineered it together to fit on the boat. He started with two 2x10s and cut and smoothed them so they fit on the tubes. After that he just started to fit it together with 2x4s. A 2x6 was used to actually mount the motor on. Made sure that the motor shaft reached the water and at a good angle. We use straps on the frame to hold it on the boat. The straps can adjust the so the motor fits at the right angle in the water. He used lag screws to hold it together and eye screws for strapping to the boat. It ended up about 16" - 18" on all sides. It's a bit bulky but solid and works great for pushing a 5 hp motor.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

Make sure you take some pictures while making these oars. I love diy stuff!


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## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

why stick to pins and clips and sleeves? get'em close to your oar locks and do a rope wrap.


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