Hey drift boat owners

[Jonas]

Is there any local suppliers for oars, new or used? What type and length of oars do you prefer? Any additional thoughts on the subject would be welcomed. Thanks!

[koffler]

I've got the sawyer 9' MX-G counter balanced oar. I got these about 4 years ago after an upgrade from the sawyer laminated oar. They are very nice - you can order them directly from Sawyer (in Oregon) and they should get to you within a week. Also, they break down into 2 logical pieces if storage is an issue.

[Jonas]

Thanks. Is the counter balancing worth it?

[Darian]

Hi Jonas,.... You haven't said what your intended use of the oars is or what type of boat you're using. That leaves very little room to give you the info you need. And, limits the number of responses you might receive.

[slimfishin's]

We could use a bit more information on your boat. Depeding on the length of the boat, you may need 8.5, 9 or 9.5 foot oars. Composites are nice, but spedy. If you want a good oar for less money, Carlisle aluminum shafts are a good deal and have probably seen more whitewater on more boats than all other oars combined. I've got Sawyer Polecat oars, which are OK, but not as nice as the cataracts and other high end composites. I would not go with a multi-piece oar for my main oars, but would definitely use a two or three piece for my spare oar - which you will need. Don't forget to pack a spare oar lock as well.

SF

[Jonas]

It is a 16 foot Fish-Rite.

[slimfishin's]

I would go ahead with 9' oars for that boat. The sawyer polecat oars would be a good starting point. I've been using a pair for a while and upgraded my blades to the Cataract magnum composite blades... which are much better than the stock Sawyer blades. If you don't anticipate much whitewater, you could use a nice pair of Sawyer fir/ash oars too - they are still in wide use among northwest drift boat guides.

If you want something a little nicer, I would upgrade to a pair of 9' Cataract composites with the magnum blades. Just make sure to have them wrapped and stopped. You might want oar-rites, but that's up to you.

[sculpin]

Jonas
Some things to think about when looking for a comfortable to use set of oars would be how wide your boat is oarlock to oarlock and how high the sides are . Also think about how far apart and how high you like your hands when rowing. If you wind up with oars that overhang the boat quite a bit you may like the counterbalanced oars .

Mark