Re: Oars for Chester Y.

Posted by John Pollard on Apr 2, 2007

James,

It may sound counter intuitive, but in my experience shorter oars are not necessarily better for kids. When the oars are shorter than the recommended length for the boat's beam, the angle required for the blades to touch the water leaves the inboard ends too high for children. They end up pulling on oars that are at the height of or higher than their chin. This is not a comfortable rowing posture and leaves kids frustrated in short order. Best to right-size the oars and then try to find the lightest material (in the end it's the weight that poses the most difficulty for kids more so than the length).

It is actually easier for adults to manage with under-sized oars, since they can still reach the inboard ends.

In Response to: Oars for Chester Y. by James on Mar 31, 2007

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