Wooden pads that hold the metal sockets for oarlocks lie in plain view along any rowboat’s rail. Because they’re so visible, they’re worth fussing with so they’ll not only do their job but look good as well. Below are some examples from Mystic Seaport‘s watercraft collection.
The photos that follow were scanned by Penobscot Marine Museum from the collection of black-and-white negatives I donated back in 2013; they have kindly been made available for this use. You can click the images for a larger view with my detailed comments.
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Kent and Skipper says:
Inspiration for our oarlocks, thanks for sharing all of these great detail photos.
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rRJjdOS-bb8/WSeZJdvM0ZI/AAAAAAAAUng/GEgOthu31LUmel0Vj27FP4laRskbfowXwCLcB/s400/IMG_1433.JPG
Cheers
Kent
Robert Howland says:
It is strange that something so important to performance of a boat, both in terms of elegance and function, are overlooked. It is the things we do everyday, over and over, that matter. It seems that on a boat that you row, this is the critical junction of wood, metal, and man.
Ben Fuller says:
Just in the Mystic collection I can think of several more that I hope Maynard photographed. Several types in Pete Culler’s work; I recall a Bob Baker that is pretty nice. Then there are the flat thole pins in one of the very old Whitehalls, and the ones John Gardner replicated in GENERAL LAFAYETTE. There is also a Thames skiff, the Jerome K. Jerome style boat, that has a classic thole system. And I may need to find the pics I took of some 17th century royal barge thole pin and collar systems.
John Pratt says:
Fabulous start, Maynard and Eric! I look forward eagerly to more elegant details and commentary. Because such information is rarely cover in the literature, photos and comments on such details are particularly valuable for inland boat enthusiasts who don’t have numerous small boats for reference on docks or in boat sheds close at hand.
John
nick hanbury says:
These pics are most useful. I am about to add oar pads to my 14.5 ft Swallow dinghy and now have a pretty good idea of how they should look. Thank you! Nick
[email protected] says:
Details, often overlooked in the chaos of creation, are what make the difference between the technically OK and the inspiring. In our times, it seems that technically OK is often accepted as good enough, and not just in boats. But the acceptance of the mediocre will never deliver what the pursuit of spiritual excellence can. This is one of the lessons that a deeper look at traditional boats can provide and one of the reasons we recognize them with such reverence. Pete Vosburgh, owner and keeper of L.F. Herreshoff’s “ALBACORE” for many decades, used to say, “In days of yore, the craftsman wrought, with greatest care, each detail, seen and not …for his God saw everywhere.” Alas, today we seem to focus in on only the technical details of what we create. Maynard has a gift for seeing these details in the vessels we love with a keen and knowing eye, not only for their technical importance but always with a proffering nod to their often-overlooked spiritual value. He is not referred to by my young friends in Brooklin as “The Dumbledore of wooden boats” for nothing.
Jim Hansen says:
More… Please.
Steve Stone says:
Right on, Jim. Stand by, there is definitely more to come.
Michael Glasfeld says:
These are the details that enrich our experiences on the water.
The crowning highlights of the Spring commissionings are just these sorts of things; carefully taping, sanding, and oiling the oar pads, and then getting really carried away with rubbing the leather rubrail guards with tallow (then tallowing the oarlocks themselves for good measure).
We thank Maynard for focusing our attention on the things that are often overlooked as being important to the cumulative wonder that being aboard good boats brings about.
Greg Fall says:
Thanks for these! Last summer I fashioned a set mounted on the side decks of my Stambaugh Windward 15 to protect the coaming and make it easier to row from a seat fixed on top of the centerboard box. They have helped a ton in adapting a sail > row boat into a more capable rower. But they are so visible it was important that they not look shabby or hacked together.
Greg
Eric T. Pomber says:
Thanks for sharing more of these great photos.
Eric