: For that double paddle canoe I am building, I would like to be able to row
: it. First, I think oars would be faster than the paddle. Second, I think
: the boat would be much easier to maneuver and control with oars for
: photography, which is one of the main uses to which the boat will be put.
: Fishing should be easier, too.

: I've been searching the web for plans or descriptions of some sort of light,
: removable setup for moving the oarlocks out about nine inches on each
: side. My search hasn't produced much. Has anyone done something like this
: or know where I might look to get some information on this? I've seen a
: couple of clunky looking (and expensive) commercial units, but I would
: rather make my own.

: Thanks for your help.

: Chris Luneski

Hi Chris,

Oars would definitely be faster than a paddle. Additionally, with a little thought, you can rig an apparatus to hold the oars out on the water when fishing or photographing, for added stability and damping effect of the inevitable "rocking of the boat".
If your canoe has spacers on the inside gunnels, you could fabricate a short version of a "wing" rigger, like that on some rowing shells. you could make it from wood laminations, or just go to the local Votech and have the metal machine shop and welding shop work together to build one for you out of aluminum. They may do it for free if they have the materials lying around, or maybe just for materials costs. These can be very lightweight.
Since you only want to extend the oarlocks nine inches or so, it won't take a whole bunch of engineering to make it adequately strong and light, and if you spread the mounting over a nice section of the gunnels, using the spaces in the inner gunnel to route mounting hardware, you should have a strong enough platform for oars. You did not mention whether you were intending to use as a fixed seat rower or with a sliding seat. If you want a sliding seat rig, the Glen-L design would work with a few modifications (you could just make a narrower version of the sliding seat from Glen-L and use a wing rigger), or you could try to locate a rowing club and see if you could get a look at a Piantidosi drop-in unit, and then go to the Vo-tech school again with your ideas.
One other thought is to just make some very short outriggers from aluminum or stainless and mount them to the sides of your canoe......you'll need some type of backing blocks though, and you'd have to go through the hull with the hardware. This, in my opinion would not be too good for the canoe, and you might even need to put a rib inside for the hardware to go through. That is the nice thing about wing type riggers.......... since they are one piece that spans the beam of the boat, they become a structural member of the boat, like another "removeable" thwart. Place a piece of mesh across the center section, and you'd have a nice little place to put you flybox or whatever.
An interesting take on a recreational rowing/flyfishing shell.......... www.bluegrouseboats.com Only downer is they use the commercial drop-ins.....way overpriced in my opinion.
Hope this helps
garland