A Sculling Oar for a 31-foot Cruising Boat
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- Опубліковано 16 бер 2018
- Several of you requested more details on the sculling oar I use. In this vid I talk about the size and construction of the oar, where I stow it at sea, and how I deploy it with an oriental lanyard.
Put one hand on the rope under the oar. As you push and pull on the rope, it introduces the right angle/twist to the oar. The other hand just pushes and pulls on the oar. That way, no twist of either wrist, so no carpal tunnel.
It helps to have a kink or curve in the oar like a Ro or Yuloh.
Wow this video is awesome. This is what I was looking for. I have a 16' fiberglass center-console boat that I stripped completely. I can't afford a new engine, and I really want to put it in the water and use it. I really hope the sculling technique works on my boat. I'm sure it will. Thanks!!!
On occasion I did scull my previous 22’ catamaran with just a simple oar, actually far too short. It is such a pleasure to make progress with resorting to a noisy engine.
My current catamaran is 28’, haven’t got around to making a sculling oar yet but will do. She has quite a bit of windage, so will not work if completely calm.
As my boats have all been shallow draft, the oar also makes a good emergency pole for pushing off, though I will have a dedicated pole for this.
For dinghies, what you can also do to accommodate a sculling oar is install another place for a regular oarlock (for rowing) off center in the stern. That is what my father did on one of our dinghies that we used to get out to( and back from) our sailboat at its mooring.
Yep, that will work, especially if it is a fiberglass dinghy and the transom is really thin.
Yay another excellent video, thank you. So happy when I see one appear.
Nice T-Shirt.
Thanks! I think I got that tee at Walmart for $4, I rather like it myself ...
Excellent - very well explained.
Excellent video!
That is so cool! Great video!
The 18' fishing yawls from my childhood had " paddles" and "sweeps".
The sweeps were 12' long and sculling a sweep from a notch in the transom was normal.
thanks for the info. this video answered my question I had on another of your videos. We have had pretty good luck with lashing our dingy to the side of our boat when you just can't quite make it to the anchorage before the wind dies or you need to make it under a bridge that happens to be dead upwind. But the sculling oar seems like a good method as well.
I love this simple application. It's not a complex oriental angled device that only has one use. However I would call it a sweep due to it 14' length.
Good job on your build.
Take care ,
Tom
Tom Kellum Thanks Tom. That's third one I have built thanks to insufficient lashings, so I've had some practice..
This is very informative. For my previous Folkboat (with very low freeboard) I was able to purchase an oar that suited the purpose. Laziness, and a 1/2 mile trek up a creek to my mooring usually left me using the 4hp outboard, but having the oar always left me feeling like I had options if the outboard pooped out, (and they do). I got it because I read about the Pardeys doing it many years ago. Your instruction showed it could be done even with a heavier displacement boat. Great videos.
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, in calm conditions a sculling oar is remarkably effective, even on bigger boats.
Excellent!
And this answered all of my questions!
Kevin, a terrific video for those of us who use heavy metal to leave and enter our marina berths. Not sure I'll be changing modes of propulsion just yet, but thanks for the excellent presentation. For those without access to a wood shop to manufacture your own, Shaw and Tenney make a beautiful hand-made sculling oar for about $325 (and up).
Here is a link to above:
www.shawandtenney.com/productdisplay/st-sculling-oar
Thanks Patrick. Actually I did make my first replacement oar on the cabin top--it can be done with hand tools-- though I sure made a mess of things, and being my first oar it was rough so I wasn't sad to see it go ..
That’s the spirit! Making stuff onboard. Probably you’ve all seen when Emerald Steel made a complete mast, onboard!
I'm glad you showed us how that thing works. Until i saw you twisting it back and forth , I didn't know what you were doing. I think that's gonna be a great addition to my 31 footer. I just got a new 20 hp diesel and am waiting for spring to install it. Who new ! Cheers
Ah yes, sculling is a bit of a lost art these days ... have fun with the new boat!
New ? It's 1969 vintage ! Solid as a rock !
Don't test that theory!
@@howtosailoceans1423 My engine is installed now I'm waiting for the 4 feet of ice to melt hopefully before June ! BTW I'm bing watching your whole channel again. It's the best kept secret on UA-cam
@@robertorzech7369 Thanks Robert, fair winds for when spring arrives
Thanks I was curious about that
It's great you use a sculling oar, and share it. I am really glad to see this.
This is clearly not a very efficient sculling oar. The blade is not cambered, the surface area too small, and the shaft is not bent.
You may scull short distances without wind, that is useful, but I scull 5 miles at a time. I scull against 15 knots of wind, and can even make progress against 1 knot current.
No, it's probably not very efficient, but does the trick when I need to maneuver in close quarters when the winds are light. Fifteen knots of wind would be a tall order with my boat, all that rigging creates quite a bit of resistance. Thanks for watching.
Glad to read your comment Sean. My boat was small but I did all the same you mention, except sculled 10 nm a day with an oar not absolutelly perfect because I did with an old oar and some scrap wood as an experiment. Sold the engine at the end. Windage and balance of the hull is important too, this sailboat does quite well for maniobrating specially in marinas. I had more speed also.
What boat do you have, it makes a difference?
Bronze Oar lock , you might find one in a Museum :)
Great video just one thing I would have liked to have seen was how you change the pitch of the ore. It's a very usefull skill to have for any sailboat even with an engine those things do tend to break with you need them most
You have to experiment with the pitch, I probably angle the blade around 25 degrees for each stroke, so I have to rotate the oar 50 degrees each time. As I say, you just have to practice with it and see what works best.
..and you change pitch to suit speed. Like having gears in a car
the lanyard you are using is traditionally pulled on with one hand first, then the oar hand pushes/pulls the oar in the same direction. By by pulling the rope it changes the angle of attack in the water. Pull the rope first it will save the small muscles in your wrist from becoming fatigued from turning the beastly oar back and forth.
So pull the lanyard just at the beginning of each sweep to change the pitch? I shall have to try that.
Traditional yuloh has a 10 to 15 degree downward bend about halfway between the pivot and the boat end of the oar. This helps with orienting the oar, since the push is below the aerodynamic center and it helps turn it. Additionally, the downward angle means the lanyard has leverage to turn the oar when it is pulled, helping yo kick it over on the turn. Contributing some aerodynamic benefit as well. Alternative to the bend is a downward right angled “wrench” or handle at the end of the oar. Gives more effect from turning and gives a better place for the lanyard to attach and pull from.
i love it
very informative mate!
Ive one and it has many uses fending getting off chains and getting into shore when the engine just wont start every one should carry a long oar
Ahoy Sean, glad you are enjoying the vids. Thanks for tuning in.
Interesting craft hopefully we will get to see more of her
A boat tour is on the to-do list, have gotten several requests for that.
Not to mention emergency rudder
Would wrapping a piece of leather around the oar keep the lashing line from chafing? Just and idea. Thanks for making great vids.
Love the video. I was curious about the details on that oar including how you carry it. I noticed the Chinese lanyard the first time I saw you sculling the boat and knew what that was for. I'm going to build an oar and was curious as to the length of yours, which you included in the video.. What do you figure Your free board is at the oarlock? We have a saw mill up the board walk and I live in the land of spruce and yellow cedar. I'm just going to mill up my own planks and maybe make the center from yellow cedar. I've decided to install an engine in that boat I mentioned in an earlier comment but I'm going to run it as though there is no engine installed and see how it goes. I always wanted a boat with no engine but I have some trepidation about doing it in these parts at least to start with, without the safety factor of the motor available. I watch a couple of other sailing channels that put out a little more content maybe but this channel by far is my favorite. The other channels are pretty rank amateurs which is part of their charm but you have the obvious mark of a seaman. I've spent a lot of time on the water in power and sail boats but I've never owned my own sail boat. Last boat I had was a 24 ton power boat. I was looking for a sail boat when i bought it ! LOL anyway, im loving the videos!
Thank Rick! I would estimate the oarlock to be about 4.5 feet off the water, and as I've said the oar is 14 feet. Obviously the further off the water the longer you will need the oar to be. Those numbers should scale proportionally if I'm thinking about the math right.
I shit you not on our way to my brother's house to work on lobster traps I was telling him about you and about how you don't use an engine and only a skulling ore and we get to his house and I go to the UA-cam app and right at the top was this video. Tell me Google isn't some how listening in on people's conversations through their cell phones
and his name is Mr Alfred Gohrythms
If you lost your rudder then right there is the real benefit of a sculling oar.
edit: would a sculling oar work in a sheet to tiller self steering arrangement?
What Make/ Year is your boat please?
I'm sure you've mentioned it somewhere, but I find a lot of channels omit it from either their home page or the individual videos, other than, maybe the length, or they'll just say *small boat" ? ? Etc. So I have to dig and dig, sometimes never find that basic information.
Really appreciate your thorough vldeos and sharing your expertise.
Gilmer 31. I have the specs in the description of my more recent vids. Thanks for stopping by.
@@howtosailoceans1423 oh ok, I see the description. Thanks.
Sorry, . . . And what year? Thanks, much respect for your great contributions!
Wow, I didn't know a sculling oar could propel a vessel that large.
Yes, but you need flat water and little or no wind..
I have read that a sculling oar can move a vessel up to sixty feet! I have never seen that but that's what I read.
Spiffy, that oar lock of bronze really looks neat! Wonder how much pressure it can take? Do you have one of hard wood as a spare?
(Probably you already noticed: Parts of the vid is with sound only in right channel… you can easily put it in mono on both channels in editing when needed. To use headphones when editing is a safe way.) 😉
So far that bronze oarlock is holding, though it bends and creaks a bit on the mount. Yes, occasionally the sound is in mono, thanks to the camera once taking a fall and bending the mic jack ... need a new mic.
Yep, a new mic helps out. Meanwhile you can “pan” the sound you’ve got into mono, to solve it temporarily.
Great video. How is the cleat for the lanyard oriented with respect to the lateral location of the oarlock; i.e. is the arc of the handle centered over the cleat or is it offset a bit? Would the angle with which the lanyard pulls on the oar affect your input and control of the blade in the water?
Try to keep the Oriental lanyard approx. 90 degrees to the oar.
I wonder if that bronze oarlock is sturdy enough so the sweep/sculling oar can be used as an emergency steering oar if your rudder fails/drops off. :) (Think viking longship.)
Haven't tried it. Maybe, in a pinch.
Interesting, now a DIY building Orr is in order Please.
Check out Boat Projects on my website: www.boothbyboats.com .
Interesting video. I was wondering how long it would be possible to scull for? I've seen a few videos of people crossing the Atlantic and they all seem to spend a certain number of days becalmed, would it be feasible to scull for a few hours a day to make some kind of progress? Would a longer oar give you more leverage?
A scull is really only useful for short runs in flat water. Out on the wide ocean, even if there is little swell, it's not worth the sweat to go 2 or 3 miles, better to just wait for wind.
I would think it would give you something to do and help with your sanity while slowly getting to that wind
You mentioned that there were some building plans for this, on your website? I'm having trouble finding your site though. Could you possibly link me? I tried looking through your profile but didn't have the luck
I just visited his site recently and found it interesting. This page should have the oar information you're looking for. Not sure if youtube will let me post a link though: www.boothbyboats.com/boat-projects
Have been looking for info on using a suckling oar on a westsail 32 it weighs about 4,000 pounds more than your boat.any thoughts?
Sculling dam spellcheck
Ha, ha, I find myself fighting with those auto corrects more than agreeing with them ... I recently saw a W32 with a sculling oar, looked to be about the same size as mine. A lot of people recommend something like a yuloh, which is curved in a way to make it more efficient, but I don't know enough about them to make any recommendations. Maybe talk to this guy: ua-cam.com/video/dceYiJDQoNo/v-deo.html
So you only use the oar on one side in all conditions?
Yes, it does not matter too much if the scull is slightly off center.
Why do you change the pitch when sculling?
You have to change pitch, otherwise you would by trying to go forewards then backwards with every stroke.
Is there difference between sculling oar and power fin in terms of power?
Not familiar with a power fin so cannot say.
@@howtosailoceans1423 have you tried Ro yuloh and other types? There are so many options...
What kind of boat are you sailing? Thank you.
Drew Waterbury The boat is a Gillmer 31, a partially completed Southern Cross 31--this boat completed by the previous owner and myself.
Thanks - now subscribing to your channel
A straight yuloh? For the "bent" version: www.junkrigassociation.org/Resources/Documents/Slieve's%20Files/Yuloh%20efficiency.pdf
Aloha nui! 🤙
Alapiko ma Mālolonui
I suspect the reason a yuloh is bent is because a junk deck tends to be further above the waterline than this boat. Curving it reduces the length required for it to be effective.
Quite true! It's also because the bend makes the yuloh rotate in the proper direction (so that the leading edge is angled downward) when it's pulled from side to side.
I'd suggest that Kevin put a "handle" on the lower side of the oar, which would attach to the lanyard, so that he doesn't have to rotate the oar with his wrist muscles.
A good article on the yuloh:
www.junkrigassociation.org/Resources/Documents/Slieve's%20Files/Yuloh%20efficiency.pdf
(( OH,.. thatʻs the same PDF! Thereʻs me being redundant again! :) ))
Nā mahalo koʻu hoaloha! :) 🤙
Delete every "uh". They interrupt the flow of narration. The trick is not speak until ready to deliver a complete sentence.
Stop saying ah and um...