oar sizing

[KrystalFlash]

Chuck 'n' Duck,

First, good choice of oars. I have had Cataracts for about 3 years, and am nothing but happy with them.
My suggestion to you is evaulate what kind of rowing you do. If you do a alot of white-water rowing, the longer oars provide extra leverage, but reduce ability to squeeze through the tight spots as easily. Not a BIG difference, but a difference nonetheless.
If you do a lot of plug-pulling, the long oars may help you a little with the fatigue issue.
I have a 16' Smoker, I use the 9' oars and they work wonderfully.
F.Y.I. Cataract make a three piece collapsable spare that I find is wonderful in that it is far easier to deal with and takes up less boat space.
Good luck.
It is good to be Lucky!!!

[Grant Scheele]

I have known several people that went for the extra leverage and all have ended up either buying shorter oars or taking the hacksaw to them. If you only fish lakes I suppose longer oars would be great but many a time on a river of any drop you are going to find yourself in a tight spot. Especially in the Summer. A nice feature to Cataracts is that you can shorten them with a hacksaw.
9ft seems to be the best all around length.

[Hotshot]

I spend most of my time on the clawah river and it is class 3 and 4 white water i run 9ft sawyers with wooden paddles. the wooden paddles seem to grab rocks and boulders better in tight spots before rapids and what not when you need to slow down. the cataracts are a nice oar but when you dig and hit a rock they spin around in youre hands sometimes that last oar stroke is critical!

------------------
www.olympicpeninsulafishing.com Fish Willy Boats

[Gone Fishin]

Cataract oars are sweet! I put a pair on my 17X54 Willie last year and I'm still smilin' ! I went with 10 footers, I thought they might be a little long...but, they are excellent! No problem with the length on the small coastal rivers even in the upper reaches where the water can get skinney.

[Salmonator]

Hot Shot, on the topic of oars spinning out of your hands have you tried Oar-Rites. Some people have reasons to hate them, I love them and would hate to be w/out them after using them for 4 years...

[chuck 'n' duck]

I am purchasing new Cataract oars for a 17' drift boat (54" bottom). Should I get 9'6", or just 9'?

Any input appreciated.

Thanks,

Chuck 'n' Duck

[Hotshot]

Salmonator,
to get maxamum use out of youre strokes on youre oars i like to roll my wrist. oar wrights dont allow you to do that! we call them training wheels around here (jk). we do run them they are good when anchored up top keep the boat from swaying back and fourth!

------------------
www.olympicpeninsulafishing.com Fish Willy Boats

[Salmonator]

I know what you're saying about the oar stroke but I think what you lose is minimal compared to the benefits of being able to grab an oar in a hurry and knowing your paddle position right off the bat. Also if you get into a tight spot and hit a rock the oar wont roll flat, it will stay upright and give you leverage on whatever you're pushing against. Just another 2 cents...

[Grant Scheele]

Not worth the 2 cents Salmonator. Just admit that you can't give up your training wheels ya big weiner.

[Salmonator]

Call it what you want, but when you are 60 and your wrists are so bum you couldn't set the hook on a bluegill or hold a beer then think of me... (oh wait I forgot, you're a non-beer drinking WEINER ha ha ha ha)

I like 9 1/2 footers. I like Oar -Rites, and I ain't no weenie! And I can out row you 3 young weenies combined . - RT - BTW, it's not the length that counts, it's how you use it!


[This message has been edited by RT (edited 09-01-2000).]

[Salmonator]

Hey RT, I don't know how you use YOUR oar-rites, but WE were actually talking about using them on OARS!!!!

Hey Sal, at least my oar is big enough to .... nevermind! Besides, it was you guys that brought up weiners. If I didn't think that you were talking about hot dogs, and I did think that , we all might be spending the night in the Ifish dungeon.

[Big Willie]

Oars...huh?...I use an 8 horse Merc!

[Grant Scheele]

Oops!! I just went and measured my oars and I can't advocate 9 foot oars anymore. Seems that I have to advocate 9 1/2 oars. Always nice to find out that you have more than you thought. Big oars are for people with small feet and I heard that RT wears womens shoes.

What color are your high heels GS? You just found that your oars are long ones. - Maybe people reading this thread wonder if we all have both oars in the water? BTW, GT (Big Willie, or so he claims), when I rowed your driftboat I didn't notice what length the oars were. What were they?

[This message has been edited by RT (edited 09-01-2000).]

[DanS]

You guys are killing me!!

My vote is for the 9 1/2 footers, especially w/ a 17' boat.

Hey RT, what is the favored length of "oar" by the local Emu population? (NOBODY should put that much faith in one lure!!).

Fish on......

Hi Dan. I don't really find emu as a"lure"ing as Osprey teases. But I do know something about them. They don't use oars. They paddle around in the water like ducks do. Their feet are 9 1/2 cm'ers. And don't be knockin' emus; they are cool birds man! I'm not mad, I just think that smilie face is cool. Also, you know what they say about emus with big feet don't you? .... Well we don't know why down here so let us know. Geez, I hope this isn't the first thread any new readers check out! - rt? ----- Excuse C&D, we got off your subject a bit there. I would really recommend the 9 1/2 foot oars for 17' D-boats (16' too). They provide plenty of pulling and pivoting power, and oar tip reach for stability, when needed for rollers or heavy hydraulic rapids. They are good for pulling plugs. The 10 ft.'ers work well also but when they are balanced at the oarlocks correctly they reduce the room between the ends of the oar handles a few inches and can impinge your room for manuevering (especially if you are a large guy). The 9 ft.'ers work but are limited in effectiveness by comparison; and you have to reach up too high to dig into the water hard. Hope that helps Chuck N Duck. - RT

[This message has been edited by RT (edited 09-01-2000).]

[Osprey]

I'm Baaack
Hey come on guys don't give RT a hard time about his Emu fetish..he can't help it and besides when they are in the water it makes them easier to catch...well thats what RT tells me
Back to the oars thing,I recommend the 9 1/2,and I also like oar-rites I never used them when I owned a drift boat but on a cat they are the S**t because some models are so resonsive you don't want to miss a stroke....
or a slow EMU

------------------
Row quietly and fish a Cataraft !!-------<'))>><

[chuck 'n' duck]

Thanks for all of the input. 9.5' it is! I am picking them up this Friday and will take the boat for its maiden voyage this Sat. down the Clack. Will probably hit Feldheimer's to Barton. If you see me in the big green Willie, say hi.

Thanks again,

Chuck 'n' duck