Gull Oars
It is important to your river outing to have
your hands on a good pair of oars. I would hate to
count how many oar strokes I make on a typical
river trip, but I'm sure it's a lot! So it is
important to have well balanced, strong, but
flexible oars for those many oar strokes you will
be making. Especially if you are new to
driftboating, as new river boaters tend to row too
much, rather than letting the flow of the river do
the work for them. These sturdy ash oars fit the
bill particularly well. They come with a
"donut" (to stop the oar from sliding through the
oarlock) and a durable wrap to protect the wood
from being chafed by the oarlock.
The oars are priced each. You will need at least a
pair, but if you want to be safe, we recommend that
you carry a third oar in the boat. I had the pastor
of our church in my boat one day (an avid fly
fisher) and lost an oar. Luckily, I had my third
oar in place and had begun the chase down river for
the lost oar before he even noticed. Whew! A local
guide's suggestion to a boater launching with only
two oars: "If you lose one of your oars, just throw
the other one overboard too, 'cause one oar won't
do you any good!" Do yourself a favor, and carry
three oars in the boat. Knock $5 off each oar if
you buy all three oars from us at once.
American brand "Superstrong" oarlocks
work particularly well because they have a
machined, 5/8" shaft, not a rough cast one that
you need to file down to fit your oarlock
blocks. Like the oars in the above
description, carrying an extra oarlock is
a good idea. We also carry UHMW oarlock
sleeves, machined from the same material
as our UHMW skid shoes. They are long
wearing and require a 7/8" hole in the
block. They can easily be pressed in with
a vise or a large "C" clamp. They usually
require re-drilling to 5/8" after
installation to compensate for the
"squeeze".
Oars are meant to move water and propel
the boat.
Everyone knows that. What most folks don't
always realize is that once in a while the
boat goes through a shallow spot in the
river where one is inclined to dip the
oars into the gravel and rocks on the
river bottom! That is hard on oar tips!
Enter our oar tip protectors to help save
your oars from the rocks below. They are
made of a durable vinyl material to fit
the oars we sell. Immerse them in warm water
and slide 'em on! Put a couple coats of
varnish under them first to make sure the
oar is extra well-sealed against moisture.
