Second rowing station for the V10.

[terrulian]

I'm hoping Jacques sees this:

I'm thinking of putting another set of oarlocks between the bow and center seats. This would, hopefully, balance the boat better when there are two aboard as opposed to one or three, and allow you to row from the forward seat. Do you think this will work, and if so, would you put them about 12" aft of the back edge of the bow seat?

[Capt UB]

I think I have a photo of my old (1960's) 6' dink I used years ago cruising. It was setup to row from the bow and mid seat. The setup let you carry food, fuel aft and row from the front by yourself. Two could row, but never really did that, short dink 6'. It was setup by the maker/builder that way. I believe it was an English boat.

[terrulian]

Thanks.
I'm going to hold off in the hope that Jacques weighs in.
I'll document it here if I do it of course.

[jacquesmm]

It will work but the boat is very small for that.
The second thwart has to be far forward enough for two reasons: you do not want to hit the mid seat with your knuckles and, you must be able to extend your legs.
You could move the mid thwart a little bit back to give more room, let's say 10" and cut a big hole in the frame to extend your legs through it.
In general, if you have about 36" between thwart support frames, you will have enough leg room.

Ideally, build the hull and then try the 2 rowing positions. Sit on a milk crate and see how it feels. It depends on your size. I use dimensions for a 5-10 person (175 cm) and in some cases, I have to compromise with ideal oarlock location.

[terrulian]

Thanks very much, Jacques. Luckily, I'm short so that might help. Capt UB reports he managed it on his 6' dinghy.
I think I'm going to try it and report back. I will attempt to mount the new oarlocks temporarily somehow.
Bear in mind, this would be used only in the case where there weren't three on board and so the center seat passenger will not interfere with the rowing motion. My main concerns are the height of the bow seat, which is above the other two, and leg room. I have large holes in the center frame so maybe my toes can stick in there.

[Jaysen]

Maybe I'm slow, but wouldn't moving the rowing position forward change the angles of oars requiring shorter oars?

Also, that bow seat has a very narrow "back pincher" as the sides come together... have you tried the motion while sitting in the seat to make sure it's possible?

Neither question is remotely helpful. Sorry.

[terrulian]

I've little doubt it will work, if poorly. The question will be, is it worse to sit on the center thwart with someone in the after thwart and be down at the stern, or be cramped in the bow but have the boat in relatively good trim? These are the questions that occupy the great minds.

[jacquesmm]

Yes, another point I did not mention is oars length. If you move the oarlocks forward, the beam becomes too small to use decent length oars.

[Jaysen]

If the trim is the big concer... what about a sand bag on the forward seat?

[terrulian]

If you move the oarlocks forward, the beam becomes too small to use decent length oars.

Fortunately, if this turns out to be the case, I have two or three other pairs for other purposes which I can substitute.

Regarding oar length for this boat: I don't know if I mentioned this but the original oars I bought were 8 feet. I think Jacques recommended 7 1/2 but after doing some very advanced math involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, I concluded that the online formulas for oar length for the V10 yielded an answer precisely half way between 7 1/2 and 8 feet. After lengthy conversation with the oar merchant, I decided to order the 8-ft. pair. Then, a year or two later, I, in my wisdom, left my oars on the beach after loading the boat. This was not discovered for over a month, when I went to the shore for my next expedition and found myself without propulsion. Returning frantically to the site of my last outing, I searched high and low and they were nowhere to be found.

Now, there is a whole world of oar fetishists out there and you can spend over $500 if you've a mind to; but my thrifty self limited my purchase to a mid-ranged set. Even so, with shipping, leathers, and the oarlocks that live on the oars, this was still a loss of around $250. I went back to the same shop and ordered what I thought was a duplicate set; but either his incompetence or mine resulted in my receiving a 7 1/2 ft. pair. At first I was crestfallen, but after a few days on the water I found that the stroke was easier with the shorter oars, and the difference in speed was negligible. Rowing becomes, with practice, a rhythmic action, and even with my technique, a graceful and pleasant one, so it took a few hours before I settled into a comfort level with the new length.