Oar Rights | Ep. 146

[@franzhorner]

I completely agree with everything said here. The debate has gone on forever. I have used "spinnies" or open oarlocks for years in all kinds of whitewater. I think one thing that doesn't get discussed is the bottom of the oar stroke with open oarlocks. That torque I get at the bottom of the oarstroke when my knuckles are going up for a back stroke or down for a forward stroke...that torque i believe adds a lot of power to the stroke. I don't believe the "feathering" while the oar is out of the water is worth open oarlocks, its the power of the bottom of the stroke for me. This channel is great Zach! I'm really enjoying these videos!!

[@GearGarageTV]

Thanks for the comment!

[@mikeporter8203]

I'm glad to see someone who understands that one's clothing attire must match the boat on which they are perched. Right down to the shorts and chafe strips. :-)

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep fashion is key!

[@cdvgear]

I use my raft primarily for fishing around the PNW. I use the convertitle rights and love them. As others mentioned, it's great being able to lock them for inexperienced friends to try rowing and my wife has a ton of confidence with the blades locked in position. Another benefit for fishing applications is that the fixed position blades act as a rudder when anchored in current. With pure spinnies, a boat will swing back and forth which can lead to issues.

[@jacoblhwilson]

I actually like em on trips with a lot of flat water where you are rowing to make miles. I think they make it easier to change your grip and use different parts of your hand while pushing which can also use different muscles, allowing you to row more without getting fatigued.

[@BarryKruse]

Love your balanced take on these and agree wholly, Zach -- as usual. The right tool for the right job. I enjoy them, and usually row them. You were right in a video evaluation of mine: pins & clips are the right tool on Cherry Creek. And I like spinnies on fishing trips and low-grade whitewater. Thanks for all you do.

[@mikekuczynski1552]

Never used them until 8 years ago , they have there place . I like them :-)

[@JingoEtheridge]

Iam glad I seen this iam getting some . I remember doing the north Umpqua I hit a rapid popped my oars out the old school clips style 😂. I felt like a deer on ice . I got really lucky that day 😮 I like the fact you get the oars in permanently positioned when shit gets wild it’s not like you got time to check your oars one good stoke could save your butt

[@wwrafter]

I run open locks almost 100%. But I do have the convertible rights, and love them. The only time I've pushed them down was one time at Lava. My main driver for having them is the option to make it easier for friends who are sharing the sticks or who I'm teaching to row. I also like the ability to do a draw stroke, especially on more technical runs.

[@chrisphillips5722]

Zach, thanks for the video they are always great. I am new to rowing a raft and the oar rights have made my life a lot easier, especially when I need to apply quick power on the class II & III rivers I run. I would love to see you make a video on: 1) when to use feathering and 2)how to optimize feathering. Many thanks.

[@zacharywinters1841]

I run a big cat . With pins and clips all day any day everyday! I think that the convenience of those spinneys and convertible things are interesting and cool but the purest to me says to set it up one time and train for that for the rest of the time and I'd rather be over-prepared such as pins and clips on low water easy water. Plus it's what I learned on so that has its value as well.

[@GearGarageTV]

I love pins and clips too. It's nice to be able to run all oar systems in case you need to jump on someone else's boat.

[@allancampbell4075]

Gilman grips! Love mine. Nothing against the aforementioned various types of oarlocks.

[@jaredlinkhart6528]

I have had the convertible Oar rights for two seasons now, and we just got off of the Lower Salmon. I had a couple issues this trip with the movable part popping up while rowing. I have just standard oar locks on Sawyer MX-G shafts on rope wraps. My wife rowed a cataraft with Gilman grips and she wasn’t a fan. She found it difficult to jump on the boat and quickly find the reference point for her hands to fit in to.

[@hunterbancroft290]

I have also had problems with them popping up. It happened to me in Caldera on the Upper Klamath. I immediately got rid of them. The only thing worse then having your oars locked in place is thinking they are locked and having them spin during a critical Class IV+ move. I have a video of it that I need to get around to posting

[@sheltonboggess6217]

Thank you for all your videos! Being new to rafting, I am absolutely loving all your videos and gleaning as much info as I possibly can. I lost an oar in a silly mistake the other day and am trying to decide what to purchase next to replace my lost oar. Do you think that Cataracts are that much better than Carlisle and if so, what about the magnum vs Cutthroat blades? I'm in Alaska and I feel like every river I run ends up being crazy shallow and so I heard the cutthroats are great for that type of river running. Thanks so much!!!!

[@NatePurcellVideo]

I agree with you on this Zack.

[@Garin-BRi]

I love open oar locks, having the blades locked in place kinda annoys me but I did the lochsa this spring at a pretty high water flow and was happy to have the blades locked in place

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep sometimes it's great to have open oar locks and sometimes it's great to have the blades locked in place.

[@NCsqrlkiller08]

I replaced these with Gilman Grips. Accomplishes the same thing but you get the benefit of a more powerful grip and can still feather

[@GearGarageTV]

How do the Gilman Grips work when properly shipping your oars? It seem like the grips will be backwards during shipping.

[@wwrafter]

I don't ship quite as often as you do, possibly because I use Cobra oarlocks which allows me to push the blades pretty high in the air to miss things. When I do ship, it doesn't take much to get my hand back on the grip properly. I love my Gilman Grips for day trips. On longer days, I have a tendency to row while standing up and also while facing the stern. The grips don't work quite as well for that scenario, but I think when all is said and done, they're still worth it even on the longer days.

[@calebteneyck3489]

I run pins and clips, oar rights, and spinnies. My preference is in shallow technical i like to have the spinnies, i think it protects me and the oar more having the ability to spin. As the water gets deeper I prefer to have pins and clips, unless I'm fishing (not really sure why I prefer oar rights there) but I inherited one set up that is P&C and one that is oar rights with a set of spinnies, will probably never convert to just one system completely

[@GearGarageTV]

The best boaters can run any setup.

[@hunterbancroft290]

I prefer oar rights in REALLY shallow water because I hate hitting rocks and having the oar spin in my hand

[@crazybilltv5220]

.... plop it up .... its plop and drop....😂😂😂😂 I wanna see someone use spinnies in quarter mile in Tumwater canyon at 14,000 CFS...I like the hydrid option... though a moving part is more likely to break quicker...with pins and clips and a little shorter than normal on a creature craft gives you the option of a paddle stroke but with an oar... moving heavy pig gear boats ... which is already a job... having spinnies would just make it more work... from a health stand point... wouldn’t spinnies cause tendinitis quicker? And none of this matters if your frame isn’t properly fitted to the boat..

[@dgrfsthrgsergwrtghasefq]

Patten pending for over twenty years now.... rarely use these but I do have one set of oars set up with them for days when they are needed.

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep!

[@boblove6865]

Don't know much about rowing but what is the downside of using these? Is it because cool guys make fun? Seems like a useful tool in keeping you safe. I have never rowed rapids but recently had a river with alot of wood give me a lesson in wasted oar strokes.

[@IknowyouRyder]

Seems like it has its value for certain hard boating applications. My only hesitation to using would be getting comfortable using then having it fail. Are the oar rites stronger than pins and clips? Open oar locks require user to constantly be attentive. Less to break. If you break a pin or clip, how much more time does it take than slapping in a new oar lock? Cheers

[@GearGarageTV]

Changing a pin requires a wrench so it take a few more minutes than replacing an oar lock.

[@davidpauli3189]

Not to sound ignorant but please educate me on spinnies. What is it/ are they?

[@GearGarageTV]

David Pauli “spinnies” is my term for open oar locks. I call them that because your oar spins in the lock.

[@davidpauli3189]

@@GearGarageTV lol. I figured but the way it was being referred to I thought maybe I was missing something. Thanks again.

[@jimmcgregor4598]

Get old , osteoarthritis , can't close hands , get oar rights , keep rowing.

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep

[@Obliticus]

Hey Oar Lives Matter.... lol :D