Oarlocks on old jib cars
To answer Kdub's rqst (2nd in this thread) for pics and details on using an old jib car to set oars on:
It was cheap and easy and it works pretty well, having proved stout enough to row C14 (even swamped) straight into a 12 kt wind with a large passenger.
It's just a block of marine grade tropical wood (type unknown, I scrouged it from a marine lumber yard in Ft. Lauderdale) centered on the jib car facing and secured with 4 #10 and 1 #8 screws. I was quite glad that I had a cheapo drill press on this project since there are alot of perpendicular holes to be drilled at certain depth.
The oarlocks were a closeout item at West, and they had inserts which have since abandoned ship and I'll have to finagle some replacement for. I had 'em glued in but they were made of one of those plastics that nothing sticks to...
The downside: Although this places the oarlock in a good spot midway on the boat, reversing the cars outward means they are now at an ideal angle to snag lines, and they need to be that way to get the fulcrum suitably outboard. My one and only capsize was the result of a snag on one, which is now bent to a slightly upward angle (first pic). Bad bulu, but I got lucky and didn't rip out the jib track or otherwise damage things.
Also, as you can tell from the pic, my 8'4" length oars sometimes make contact and have left some ruff on the gunwale. Longer oars could be rowed on gentler angle, but mine collapse into two sections that are as long as will possibly fit in the front cuddy of my Mod One. Good collapsible oars are not cheap, and the freeboard on the C14 means that oars of 9'6" would be about ideal if I remember my figuring right.
One of my goals in working this up was to avoid additional holes in the boat, but now that I know that rowing works I think I will remove this and replace with the kind of oarlocks that are inserted right into the deck -- maybe with a removable block so that I can get some elevation right at the edge. I found rowing to be enjoyable and not particularly tiring.
The third pic is of my Florida volunteer pest control patrol who was hunting under the tarp when I lifted it for the pics -- ain't she a cutey??
