Mastering the Art of Making Oars, S3-E21

Follow along as Bob designs a set of oars starting with a spruce log. Boat builder Bob Emser creates an elegant set of oars for the small dinghy "Victoria". Crafted out of a log from a spruce tree Steve Denette's great grandfather planted. These oars will power the tender for her mothership "Arabella" This is part one of designing and shaping the oars.
“If you’re going to make it, make it beautiful.”
Bob Emser
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Recommended Playlists
Building Victoria. Arabella's Tender
• Season 3 - Victoria
Carvel Planking Playlist:
• Carvel Planking
Haven 12 1/2 Playlist:
• Season 2 - Haven 12 1/2
Tool Making:
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[@fonhollohan2908]

Felt like I just spent a half hour in soothing state of meditation, As Always Bob, you never seem to disappoint doesn't matter what your creating I seem to enjoy every moment of your expertise in craftsmanship!!

[@alfredsamperi9776]

Oar-some, Bob!!

[@OwenFromOhio]

Who would have thought that there is so much thought put into the construction of an oar... fascinating!

[@anthonyrondolino8148]

These are truly beautiful. Its so simple, just follow the steps in this video. As long as you have all the right special tools, are a very talented artist, master woodworker, careful researcher and meticulous craftsman it will turn out just like his!

[@lencrainer8570]

Beautiful workmanship and it shows when you aligned the slots in the brass screws on the oar locks.

[@craigchisholm2643]

Fabulous video Bob - thanks for taking your time to include us all!

[@ryan_mcme]

Absolutely love your craftsmanship and attention to detail. Your videos are almost meditative moments in boat making. Thank you!

[@SeaShanty2016]

Love your work - a true artist!

[@sartorst3376]

Good job Bob. Thanks for taking the time to make the videos

[@weswright3187]

Great job. Some of your tips are excellent as well. Reversing the sanding belt and using the drill was one I’ll use. Also simple things like placing tape on the saw to measure depth. You would have thought a person would have thought of that 😳.

[@glencrandall7051]

Excellent tutorial on oar making. These are beautiful. I'm certain they will provide many years (decades) of useful service. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day 🙂🙂and stay safe.

[@JakobEngl]

Great video

[@timvandenbrink4461]

Thank you. I just finished my custom made oars for my rowing Dory. I can’t believe how well they turned out, looks like I bought them from someone who knows what they’re doing! Lol. I wanted wider oars to grab more water for speed, I can’t wait for spring!

[@andrewknill8652]

The Zen of boat building - such good work in every respect!

[@thepigwillfly5869]

Good idea on putting the curve in the oar to push off the dock!

[@tomtruesdale6901]

Great job on the oars and thank you for the class on oar design and construction.

[@MCsCreations]

Beautiful, Bob! Fantastic work!!! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@charlesmoore456]

Bob Emser, The Joy of The Art of Boat Building.

[@rickhawkins2971]

Great craftsmanship, as soon as I win the lottery, I'm building a wood shop exactly like yours.

[@TheArtofBoatBuilding]

Thank You!

[@kevincorbin6273]

Looking good!

[@terminalpsychosis8022]

Wow those came out really beautiful. Burning in the maker's mark... so satisfying. Mr. Emser, you really know your stuff. Thanks so much for sharing the knowledge, and experience.

[@plainnpretty]

Beautiful job on the oars Bob your videos are awesome thanks for sharing them

[@drop_dtuned6167]

What a unique perspective. Having seen the oars in use at Victoria’s launch, and now seeing them being made. At least for us watching in real time, coffee in hand and eager for the next episode.

[@schwabrichard9829]

Always a joy to watch you work! A true artist!

[@TheArtofBoatBuilding]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bobsails9750]

Thanks very much

[@thumperoux1528]

Really liked putting knot smack dab in middle of paddle to showcase visual texture - composition, composition, composition.

[@dalevalentine1721]

Beautiful blades Bob. They will be a nice match for Victoria. I'm sure they will give years of good service. You mentioned using the blade tips to push off of a dock. I restored a set of oars for my tin boat and used a trick I had seen on some inexpensive canoe paddles. I added a 1/2" tip made from marine epoxy that was molded onto the end. Mine is functional but not pretty. The paddles I have seen use a nice amber coloured epoxy. A thin dado is cut into the end to give the epoxy more strength and surface area.

[@davidc6510]

Spectacular craftsmanship, great tips and info on the build, but most of all it's beautiful. Thanks for sharing another great video Bob!

[@thomasarussellsr]

As always, a joy and spot of relaxation to watch you work. The oars turned out beautifully. Since even those of us with a lathe dont typically have a seven foot capacity in length, your method is awesome and makes great sense. Bravo. Turning multiple sections and gluing them together would make for a weak oar. You method absolutely is the better method. The only thing that might be better would be a one piece construction rather than gluing on the wings of the oar's paddle, or includding dominos, dowels, or sliding dovetails for a mechanical attachment on top of the glue alone.

[@lanesteele240]

Never a bOARing moment

[@bespokeinnovation]

Those came out amazing. Great job.

[@mattevans-koch9353]

Thank you Bob for a very instructional video.

[@thepigwillfly5869]

I'm looking forward to Part 2 when you install the leathers. I just re-varnished my Shaw & Tenney oars for my Dyer Dhow Midget and ordered a leather kit to install. I think I'll wait to install them until after I watch your next video. Thanks for the great content.

[@user-cb6wt2vb1v]

Great job as always!. Incredible work! You are an amazing craftsman.

[@tentmaran]

Througly enjoyed watching.😊 Very much info and good explanation.

[@stefboulas]

Incredible work! You are an amazing craftsman❤

[@rexmyers991]

1858 ! Shaw and Tenny must be really old. 😉

[@johnq.public2621]

New subscriber here! 😃👋

[@michaelwilkinson2928]

Beautifully made. The oars I use are a touch convex or flattened at the tip, and the handles are parallel. Whatever works is all that matters.

[@TotalBoat]

Great job as always!

[@jckdnls9292]

Everything is an art now...

[@howardmarshall5713]

Are we getting a episode this evening Bob? the oars you made last video you made it look easy. nice craftsmanship.

[@TheArtofBoatBuilding]

Yes, it’s been posted.

[@carlhitchon1009]

Bob, I was surprised how small the screws were for the oar locks. You didn't go into them in detail, but I assume they have to be very strong.

[@alexfullmer4707]

Did you make your own branding iron, and if so is there a vid of it?

[@stevenaldrich3803]

You are very good at what you do! I find it interesting that you use a formula to determine inside length of oars, but formula doesn’t take 3-5 inches between in account. So you took what was optimal length and then subtracted

[@thomasbalph6620]

I agree. Why use formula, then totally change it

[@charlesprettyman1398]

@@thomasbalph6620 The optimal length and placement of the oarlocks resulted in oars that overlap. If you watch a rowing race - the College/Olympic version in super narrow racing shells, etc., you'll notice that their hands do overlap as they pull the oars in. They benefit from that extra leverage. Steve is not planning (as far as I know) to race Victoria, and so Bob is not building a racing boat - instead of optimizing for power on each pull, he's optimizing for convenience, and an occasional rower is less likely to master the subtle shift in their hands to avoid having the ends of the oars hit. SO, he started with their formula, and optimized it for the specific use case.

[@malarki8789]

Great video, I love your dedication to the craft

[@stephenborchers1205]

Beautiful job!!!

[@williammajor6768]

The Shaw and Tenney length was correct.

[@rieshofman5162]

Wonderfull show you make it 🤗

[@SootHead]

Oars any oarsman would be proud to get blisters from! ( : < )

[@sailing61]

watch those fingers, Bob!

[@Rsama60]

Nice oars and thanks for explaining the design formula. One question though. The baldes might get a lot of abuse. So is there a reason why you did not fiberglass the blades or at least the edges of the blades. I know that from my canoe paddles. (Being aware that an oar and a paddle are different.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Well done Bob! lovely lumber for sure. I couldn't help notice, I have the exact same power plane and the same belt sander (named Bernie, btw) Bernie Sander... get it? lol

[@alexandrodemathe6035]

incrível....

[@mickramsay5002]

Hey Bob, if I would have ordered a Dinghy at your place I would have asked for a sculling notch in order to be able to scull. Comes good when you loose an oar or when you have to manoeuvre in tight areas. It’s quite common here in Germany

[@GordDiv]

Beautiful oars. Interestingly (at least to me) growing up in Scotland we called the ‘y’ shaped thingies rowlocks not oarlocks I wondered if you considered thole pins as they can’t get lost overboard

[@andypughtube]

It's usual for the oars to cross when sculling. Though I can see that this is probably inadvisable for a tender that is rowed mainly for utilitarian reasons.

[@hankcohen3419]

I agree. I think it depends on how you want to use the boat. If you want speed then a longer inboard loom is an advantage and one can learn to cross one hand above the other. This allows a longer oar and more leverage and thereby more speed. However the downside of longer oars is that they are awkward in close maneuvering situations which a tender is sure to have.

[@nickd698]

Yep I always prefer that, even on a tender.

[@jamesblohm4976]

Thanks for this wonderful explanation for both sizing and making oars. One question, how do you varnish both surfaces of the oar with the oar blades lying on wood sticks on the bench? Do you varnish one side, let it dry, flip it over and do the other side for each coat of varnish?

[@davek6854]

I'm building a transom for a Jeff Spira boat using two layers of # 1 Hard Pine and a third layer of outer planking. In the two layers of transom there are vertical and horizontal boards being glued together with a wide area of glue space and i am always deciding on how i am cutting these pieces based on the run of the grain and how best to glue them to get the best strength from the direction of the grain. Did you examine the grain in the wood before gluing those three pieces at the 7 minute mark. I recently rebuilt the fence gate in my side yard finding the old gate was twice has difficult in demolition when the grain was opposed in direction and also with the circular grain facing each other. After that experience i am always examining the grain before cutting and gluing pieces together.

[@57dent]

Another great video. One question, would you typically use spruce for oars or is it only because of the personal connection to Steve's grandfather? Id of thought they would be stronger with one of the hardwoods like ash or oak?

[@user-lk2cj2qs1d]

Great build and vid as always question You decided not to epoxy the oars first t then, varnish It's all a personel choice thing Just thinking since varnish wears over time

[@robertbamford8266]

The inside out belt-sander-drill-attachment is pretty clever. Is it a product? If not, what did you use for the driver drum in the drill? The oars I remember (Maine, Prams and dinghies) were flat bladed until someone discovered the better bite and efficiency of cupped blades. But the tips could never be too delicate so they would survive being used as a poll to push off a rocky beach. Blade shape really went wild when designers of racing sculls and shells got involved.