GP14 Sailing Forums Forum Rowing

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    • #8803
      danwho
      Participant

      Anyone rowing a GP or carrying oars? I have seen some for sale describing having oar locks on the deck.

    • #8804
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Yes!

       

      And the boat was of course originally designed for rowing as one option.    Having said that,  she is not the easiest boat to row,   but it is a very viable means of continued propulsion when the wind fails.

       

      Paddle/s,  every time,  for the very short burst;    but oars every time for the long haul.

       

      I always carry oars,  but use them only when necessary.   But on one of those necessary occasions,  admittedly in my youth, the row when the wind failed was from Worthing back to Littlehampton,  somewhere around 5 miles;   I don’t remember whether we had the tide with us or against us,  but I suspect that it must have been with us.

       

      Buy the longest oars which you can physically stow in the boat.   I think from memory that mine are 8-ft.    I have found two options for stowage:   my current choice is on the cockpit sole (or floorboards in a series 1 boat),    as far outboard as possible,  retained in position be either clips or shockcord.    In that location they will not get in the way when sailing,  but they are just slightly awkward to either stow away or to extricate when you need to use them.       Fifty years ago I stowed my oars along the side benches,  again as far outboard as possible,  and secured in clips;   compared with stowing them beneath the thwart they are much easier to stow and to access,  but they do sometimes get slightly in the way when sailing.

       

      It might be worth rigging a permanent topping lift,  to support the boom in its normal rigged position when you drop the sails.    Carry a few sail ties,  and you can very quickly secure sail as well as boom where they are reasonably out of the way when you are rowing.    Having the boom and mainsail lying in the cockpit while you are rowing is something of a nuisance.

       

      Position the rowlock (more correctly crutch) holes comfortably abaft the thwart.    Next time I go down to the boat I will try to remember to measure up the position of my ones.    Most importantly,  position them as far outboard as is reasonably possible,  particularly if you let the plates into the deck so that they lie flush;    failure to do this is liable to lead you to scuff the varnish of your oars and  –  much more importantly  –  that of your rubbing strake if the oar digs a correct depth while pulling.

       

      Materials for the crutches (rowlocks):     I have no faith that plastic is strong enough,  and the manufacturers attempt to compensate for a weak material by making them very bulky.    Hence my choice would always be metal.    Unfortunately the choice then is either el cheapo galvanised ones,   which are fairly utilitarian and mildly ugly,  or comparatively expensive alternatives.      Very nice polished stainless steel one periodically come up on eBay,  but supplies are very intermittent.    Polished chrome on brass can sometimes be sourced by a good chandler.   Classic Marine routinely stock polished gunmetal ones,  which are a very attractive option for a vintage boat.   A “cheat’s solution” to the problem is to use galvanised crutches,  but stow them out of sight when they are not actually in use,  but polished stainless steel deck plates (let into the deck so that they sit flush) to plate tops of the holes;   your local stainless steel fabricator should be able to make up a couple of deck plates for only a very few quid.

       

      Hope this helps,

       

       

      Oliver

    • #8806
      danwho
      Participant

      Thank you Mr. Shaw for sharing your thoughts on rowing, I hadn’t thought of what to do with the boom and will be hooking up that topping lift. I have a set of spruce oars that belonged to my father, they are very light and should fit nicely. I am new to Gp sailing and have not sailed mine yet, I found her in a field and was able to obtain her for free. the sail # is 7683 hull #6810557 Bourne plastics Nottingham I think it is a 1968 vintage, all original rigging and sails not molested in any way, she has an outboard bracket but “that would be weird” even here in the U.S. imagine the horror when they see me rowing the thing.I am looking forward to sailing around Little Egg Harbor bay between Long Beach Island and Tuckerton in New Jersey, very nice cruising waters and wild areas to explore. One question, do you row with the board slightly down and rudder tied straight on or remove the rudder, i was wondering how to make her track straight because GP’s don’ have a skeg. Thanks.

    • #8811
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Being a cruising man rather than a racer,  I have a piece of shockcord stretched across the boat just beneath the tiller,  secured beneath the decks.    This is a very useful tiller brake when required;   just lift it over the tiller,  so that it now bears on the top of the tiller instead of being clear beneath it,  and it will hold the tiller in position reasonably well.   It is not as good a tiller brake as the “HuntingfordHelm Impeder” (you can Google that if you are interested),  but on a boat as beautifully balanced as the GP14 (or,  at least,  she SHOULD be almost perfectly balanced) it is normally sufficient.

       

      When rowing I leave the rudder in place,  and just hook the shockcord over the tiller to keep it central.

       

      Since you are new to the class,  and sail in northeastern USA,  may I suggest that you make contact with Bruce Idleman and/or Brian Scarborough.    Bruce is President of the USA/Canada branch of the Class Association,  and both of them are Moderators of the GP14 Owners Online Community.    I am sure you will find them most helpful,  and they are both in northeastern USA,  but how local (or otherwise) that is to you is not for me to say!     https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GP14_Community/info.

       

       

      Oliver

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