# Anyone have issues with oars popping halfway out?



## colorado_steve (May 1, 2011)

hammer the tips/horns of the oar locks closer together

OARLOCK TUNING GUIDE


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## sean_d_85 (Apr 23, 2012)

colorado_steve said:


> hammer the tips/horns of the oar locks closer together
> 
> OARLOCK TUNING GUIDE


When all the chaos is over and I get to shore I find a rock and beat on them till the tips are closer together. The trouble is when I get the tips closer together, and it happens again, it gets really hard to get them unstuck.


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## 86304 (Apr 15, 2008)

are you using rope wrap or oar sleeves on your oars?

they may be worn out or have a bad spot.

or, may be time for some new oarlocks.

just a couple thoughts.

bob


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

What kind of locks? The metal may be fatigued and it could be time for new ones. I run posilockers for that exact reason. I would not want one oar in stonechest....

Edit, new sleeves is good advice too


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Rope wraps or NRS oar sleeves?

You're probably pushing up and out if it's happening above rapids and not in them (hydraulics).

Try the NRS forged aluminum oarlocks--but they'll wear more on your NRS towers.


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## Sam Arnold IV (Aug 17, 2009)

I used to run tuned NRS Superston with rope wrapped Cataract shafts and that happened, so much so that it would wedge between the horns and cut through the rope wrap and ended up boring a hole in my Cataract shaft. It broke the second day out on the water. I ended up ripping off the rope wrap and went with sleeves. This set up worked very well with no additional problems. I'm sure my geometry had something to do with it, as well as me being somewhat new to the sticks. I love the sleeves for shipping, super fast. I went with Sawyer rope wrapped shafts for my last set and Cobra oar locks and love them. Honestly though, I've only had them on the water a couple of days. The way you tune them without the shaft sitting in the bottom of the oarlock seems much more stable. They are a bit difficult to ship though. The rope seems to want to bind on the oarlock if you are shipping them with any speed. Hope this helps. Sam I Am


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

Check the angle of your oarlocks. That's what I found the problem to be on one boat I had when this was happening too often. The angle was to severe, such that when I raised the blade up by pushing the oar handle down, the oar pressed up on the horns, then a wave would knock it the rest of the way. Can also work the other way, i.e., if the angle is wrong, when your blades are in the water, the oar is at such an angle that it is trying to press against the horns. The oar should be able to swing up and down without pressing on the horns, and should lay as close as possible to perpendicular to the oarlock shaft when pulling a stroke.


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## kikii875 (Oct 25, 2010)

My youngest brother is the stronger of the five of us brothers, and on our last grand trip he was the only one out of the five that had oar problems. It could have been the angle, or it could have been that he was using too much force at the wrong time, which I guess would be the ange again.
One oar came out and the other got pinched in houserock, resulting in him flipping. He is the third boat.
Hansen Family Swims House Rock Rapid - YouTube

He broke an oar at the top of hermit and was able to keep it straight with only one oar. Better than I did, I am the first boat in this one.
The Hansens Surf Hermit Rapid - YouTube

And then his oar pinched again in the middle of crystal but he was able to pinball down through the rock garden without getting stuck.


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## Avatard (Apr 29, 2011)

One of the reasons i switched to proloks. 

I used to have this issue ALL THE TIME when i was using the standard nrs oarlocks. So i tried cobras which were much better (especially right after tuning)

For the most part, I never have had a problem except for the most inopportune times. Which in my book is still a FAIL 

Its a lot of work to lift an 11' oar out of the water and back into the oarlock when you really need to focus on guiding your craft.

I considered the posilockers but they looked a little too "garage built" and i really want my oar to release before it shears completely off.

Hence Proloks, however --- i dont have a lot of river miles on them but my initial tests were very promising


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## sean_d_85 (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks for all the tips~
Probably has a lot to do with the angle of the shaft. I'll try out some shorter towers this spring.
I'm using plastic NRS oar sleeves but their all pretty new. 
Do the posilockers and pro-loks keep your oar in a fixed position like oar rites? I don't like to use oar rites- got a nice wrist roll technique that has to stay. They look there's a lot of metal that could get mangled in a flip over or other strange river mishaps.

Nice video of the hermit surf. that's rad!


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## Wnt2b0at (Oct 26, 2008)

Get Sawyers!


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## Wnt2b0at (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm old and my brain farts. I meant... get Cobras!


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## Avatard (Apr 29, 2011)

sean_d_85 said:


> Thanks for all the tips~ Probably has a lot to do with the angle of the shaft. I'll try out some shorter towers this spring. I'm using plastic NRS oar sleeves but their all pretty new. Do the posilockers and pro-loks keep your oar in a fixed position like oar rites? I don't like to use oar rites- got a nice wrist roll technique that has to stay. They look there's a lot of metal that could get mangled in a flip over or other strange river mishaps. Nice video of the hermit surf. that's rad!


 The posilockers can work with or without, best i can tell. The proloks have a ring with a pin in it that will engage with the collar if you like. You can install the collars backwards or remove the pin if you are a featherer. The proloks wont work if your oars already have a rope wrap. Which if you have brand new oars, is a cost savings. They also elevate the pivot point about an inch more than the cobras, which may or may not be a benefit. The range of motion (no binding) is limited by the shaft hitting your boat, which is even better than the cobras. The one thing i dont like about the proloks is i need to come up with a better way of securing the collars. The solution they provide is very driftboatlike. I may just use these collars instead. I've got some cobras in good shape if you wanna go that route


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

The posi's would work without oar rights, but I am not sure I'd do that. Ronnie would probably just make some sound ones if you requested. Keep in mine the posi's are heavy.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

Round ones, not SOUND ones, i love my iphone keyboard!


To the metal mangling. The posi's are freaking stout, esp the stainless ones. I've taken them upside down through two continuous shallow rocky stretches. They bend, haven't broken, and come out functional. Sometimes they can be pounded back, sometimes they get sent to ronnie. I hate to speculate on what would, or would not have happened to other oarlocks, but this was brutal treatment.


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

*Oarlock angle*

I tend to think this is the issue. Why so many boats out there with the same kind of gear, but just you or your rig is having the problem? I'd look at angle most of all. If it's correct, the problem should be rare. I know this - - I'd been rowing 28+ years when I did my first dory trip through the GC. I had the problem. I got home, looked things over and, sure enough, the angle on my locks was definitely too extreme. Had new ones built, problem went away. No comment on oar-rights, etc. I don't need or use them either. Letting the wrist/forearm curl, especially when portagee-ing (push stroking) long flat stretches is definitely easier on the joints. Ergonimics 101.




sean_d_85 said:


> Thanks for all the tips~
> Probably has a lot to do with the angle of the shaft. I'll try out some shorter towers this spring.
> I'm using plastic NRS oar sleeves but their all pretty new.
> Do the posilockers and pro-loks keep your oar in a fixed position like oar rites? I don't like to use oar rites- got a nice wrist roll technique that has to stay. They look there's a lot of metal that could get mangled in a flip over or other strange river mishaps.
> ...


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