To Order or Inquire email me at Clint@ClintChaseBoatbuilder.com


 We supply 14" long oar leather kits, traditional leather tallow in collaboration with Swanson Boatworks. Price is 59.95 which includes

  • Shipping
  • 14" precut leathers, one for each oar
  • twine for lacing and instructions
  • tallow for keeping leather seasoned for years
  • leather straps for buttons


  • Spruce spoon blade or flat blade oars (7' through 10' to match boat and rower)

  • Custom oar leathers and lathe-turned oar buttons. Buttons are turned from solid Nylon.

Well used leathers on a pair of 9' Spruce oars w/ custom collars
  • Spruce blades wrapped with fiberglass tape to keep end grain from splitting (not required on flatsawn blades, but important for quartersawn blades or where abuse may occur in use)

  • counterbalancing oars with lead slugs in handle to make the oars almost row themselves! Any oar can be improved through balancing and we can modify existing oars by reshaping and counterbalancing.


Hybrid Carbon & Spruce Oars

NOW AVAILABLE
  • Clint now offers his unique Carbon Fiber spoon-blade & Spruce Oar from 8 1/2' to 11'. These are highly developed for efficiency and balance without the use of lead counterweights for most sizes. For rowers, these oars will bring great pleasure on the water. Email for pricing for your oars.






The carbon looks fancy but we also make them with straight plywood laminated blades from 3 layers of 1.5mm. Very light and more affordable than carbon. We also will skin the plywood in carbon fiber.


Shaw and Tenney Oar Length Formula

  1. Measure pin-to-pin span for the rowing station

  2. Divide span by 2 and add 2" to compensate for freeboard

  3. Divide by 7.

  4. Multiply by 25 to get oar length in inches.

  5. Divide by 12" to get oar length in feet and tenths of inch.

  6. Round to nearest whole inch.


The result will give you the 'right' oar length with some assumptions in mind:

  • Your rowboat has an average freeboard
  • You are using average size blades, particularly length.
  • You won't overlap on the pull stroke (thumbs or grips will pass within an inch or so.

Reasons you might Increase oar length

  • You have more freeboard such as in a sail and oar boat...perhaps you add an inch or two
  • If you are using very long, narrow blades, you might add some length on the inboard end of loom
  • You like overlap on the pull (some overlap is more efficient)...add the amount of overlap you like

Reasons you might decrease oar length

  • If your boat is quite low freeboard you might decrease oar length
  • If you are using short wide blades -- more efficient -- you do not need as long an oar
  • If you need better stowage of oars, you can take some length away, but I would not reduce length by more than 6"