Then it was off to Bosham to try it out. Weather was gorgeous and you can't imagine a prettier place to go boating than the old home of King Canute and Harold Godwinson.
The new rowlock position makes it much easier to row, though the oars are too thin for the rowlocks and were difficult to control.
Then one oar slipped clean out of the rowlock. The shock dislodged the thwart and I fell into the bottom of the boat to one side, dipping the gunwale and shipping a load of water before I recovered equilibrium. In the meantime I had lost hold of both oars, which slipped out into the harbour.
There I was, oarless and sitting in the bottom of the boat in an inch of water. Blast. Urgh. Damn.
I pulled my sleeves up and hand-paddled to the oars, set them in the rowlocks and rowed for the shore cursing gently and hoping none of the onlookers had videoed the event for YouTube.
Lesson learned - make sure your seat is secure before you go out.
Now I need a pair of 5ft to 6ft oars that fit my rowlocks properly. Anybody got a spare pair?
4 comments:
Doh! Looking forward to full review of performance *with* oars.
Also, might have missed it, but what are the dimensions of Simbo?
would never have happened if you followed the plans and fitted the wheel and handles properly!
Since it was your wet arse this time (and not mine) I hope you allow a bit of a chuckle?
Thank you all for your sympathy and concern! Ha!
Max - That's a jolly good idea. I might just do that.
JP - Simbo is 7ft 4in by 3ft 4in, so she is little longer than the oars. This also means she won't go very fast even with oars a mile long, so I am looking for some shorter ones that fit the rowlocks better.
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