We will be making oars based on a R. D. “Pete” Culler design taken from his book “Boats, Oars and Rowing”. We expect that you will complete one oar in class and make significant progress on the second, which you will complete at home. The plans call for nominal 8 foot oars but the basic design can lengthened or shortened to meet your needs.
Pete Culler made his oars out of ¾ inch planks glued up to the required thickness; we will be using 8/4 rough lumber and gluing up to get the correct width. Unless you make prior arraignments, you will make 8 foot oars out of Douglas Fir. Oars can also be made out of Ash, Spruce and Western Red Cedar. Ash will be heavy and take all the abuse you can throw at it. Western Red Cedar will be lighter than the other choices but it won’t take any abuse at all.
The first class on June 5th is our prep meeting. We will be preparing our oar blanks, making the blade and handle patterns, making a spar gauge, talking about tools that will be needed and sharpening our tools. There will be a demonstration on how to 8 side, 16 side and round an oar or spar.
The second class is June 12th. We will start to shape our oars by first cutting out the face and then the edge.
The third class is June 13th. We will complete the first oar and we should make significant progress on the second. There will be a demonstration on how to leather an oar.
The cost of the class is $175 for members and $185 for non-members which include materials. All classes start at 9 AM and will end before 5 PM. The instructors are Randy Torgerson and Steve Mahoney.
You may sign up here: Oar Making Class Signup.
Information on the Oar Making Class is here.