Need help deciding on oars

[sculler412]

I just bought my first single: A VanDusen flyweight 2011. It is so nice to row! I'm so excited! I have spent all of my time over the past two years trying out rowing different boats, but I have not paid much attention to oars. Now that I have this boat, I will be purchasing new oars. I just can't use the beat up C2 oars in the boat house. Any recommendations for a light weight master female rowing a VanDusen?

[ltwtsculler91]

Cutaway soft croker s2s for light/master women are the best there is

I row my 1990 Van Dusen with Full blade s4s and its just wonderful

[suahoi]

I've spent a decent amount of time rowing almost every major blade design (C2 Big Blade, Fat2, Fat1, Smoothie2 Vortex, Dreher Round, Dreher Apex, the new Dreher EH, Croker standard blade, and even a few custom pairs of prototype oars) in the past few months.

Personally, I think the Dreher Round blades are probably the most comfortable to row. The round blades and new EH blades feel the cleanest at the release, but in order to get the same loading, you have to row the EH blades relatively short, so you lose some stability. The Round blades lock-in nicely, without feeling particularly heavy.

In terms of raw speed, I'm a believer in the "Swiss" style of rigging (shorter oars, tighter spreads, greater catch angles).. If you buy into that, I think the Dreher EH and Fat2 blades are most well suited for that style of rigging. Of the two, I think the EH blades handle much more cleanly. But note that you'll need to order the EH blades shorter than Dreher recommends (they recommend the same total length as all their other blades, despite the larger surface area and higher aspect ratio, both of which increase the loading.. which doesn't make any sense).

Crokers always feel very heavy to me, even when rigged very light (and I'm well below the erg standard for cutaways, which I would certainly try given the opportunity). The Fat blades feel a bit clunky. I really liked the Smoothie2 w/ vortex blades as well, I've just found other oars to be faster. Didn't really row the Apex or Big Blades enough to form much of an opinion, but they are boring anyways.. Gotta have something different!

[boston_1x]

Two suggestions:

1) the hot/sexy oars at recent trials in Chula were C2 Fat/Skinnies... fat blades set on the new skinny shafts... less wind drag than Crokers. Both Gevvie and Lindsay were using them, and I think Ursula/Hillary in the LW2x. The oars have 5cm of adjustment, so you can get the outboard gearing where you need it for your power. They also come pre-painted now.

2) you would be surprised how well an old pair of C2s clean up. Sand the blades well, square the edges, give them a fresh coat of primer paint, put some new grips on them, and I will guarantee you that aside from design differences, they will perform as well as new blades for most people. If they need new sleeves, C2 will do that free for you at any big regatta they send the service truck to.

That Van Dusen will be last boat you ever need to buy. At some point you'll need to replace stuff that wears: shoes, oarlocks, tracks/wheels... but that hull will stay stiff forever. I have a 1993 Advantage it may be due for a paint job, but other than that, it is as fast as it was when I bought it.

[Stewie Griffin Should Cox]

I've spent a decent amount of time rowing almost every major blade design (C2 Big Blade, Fat2, Fat1, Smoothie2 Vortex, Dreher Round, Dreher Apex, the new Dreher EH, Croker standard blade, and even a few custom pairs of prototype oars) in the past few months.

Personally, I think the Dreher Round blades are probably the most comfortable to row. The round blades and new EH blades feel the cleanest at the release, but in order to get the same loading, you have to row the EH blades relatively short, so you lose some stability. The Round blades lock-in nicely, without feeling particularly heavy.

In terms of raw speed, I'm a believer in the "Swiss" style of rigging (shorter oars, tighter spreads, greater catch angles).. If you buy into that, I think the Dreher EH and Fat2 blades are most well suited for that style of rigging. Of the two, I think the EH blades handle much more cleanly. But note that you'll need to order the EH blades shorter than Dreher recommends (they recommend the same total length as all their other blades, despite the larger surface area and higher aspect ratio, both of which increase the loading.. which doesn't make any sense).

Crokers always feel very heavy to me, even when rigged very light (and I'm well below the erg standard for cutaways, which I would certainly try given the opportunity). The Fat blades feel a bit clunky. I really liked the Smoothie2 w/ vortex blades as well, I've just found other oars to be faster. Didn't really row the Apex or Big Blades enough to form much of an opinion, but they are boring anyways.. Gotta have something different!

"Swiss" Style?

[Grumpy Old Dude]

I would go with Dreher REX or C2 Fat2 skinny shafts, Dreher's are the cleanest catch and release blades I've ever rowed. Fat skinnys are the real deal. I also like "Swiss" rig , shorter oars a little narrower span by convention very light rig. I have heard that there is special secret testing of radical Croker short sculls with vortex edges.

[gdoyle]

Best advice is to row every model you can lay your hands on until you find the one that feels right. I'm certain you did not buy that boat without asking around and taking a test row. Give the sticks their due process as well.

[SwissSculler]

...and squirrel away some money for coaching. I highly recommend a Skype video session with someone like Carlos Dinares or Xeno Mueller.

[1xsculler]

I have Croker S4, full blade oars that I always seem to go back to but I have Fat2s as well which I feel I improved by installing Croker sleeves on. The Croker sleeves are smoother and more positive from square to feather and back I much prefer their smaller collars. I'd like to try a pair of Fat2 skinnys.

[sculler412]

Thanks so much for the info. It gives me direction. This site is great!

[mightyquinn]

Cutaway soft croker s2s for light/master women are the best there is

I row my 1990 Van Dusen with Full blade s4s and its just wonderful

I second that ltwtsculler91. I had those exact oars and they were great. I am a 185lb men's master, but I bought the soft cutaways because I was having tennis elbow symptoms from overtraining. The cutaway blade gave a lighter load without having to mess too much with overall length, inboard or spread. The softness/stiffness of the shaft is a matter of preference, I think. My only advice on Crokers is that their contoured grips are not for everyone, but you can put any type of grip on if you want. They offer several handle sizes and grip sizes, too.

[sculler412]

So after trying out some Drehers and Crokers I went with the fat skinny C2. Boston x1 said they were sexy. It wasn't the sexy part that appealed to me. Matter of fact - I wanted to run away from them. But seriously, the reason why I decided on the C2 fat skinny oars is because I really disliked the Croker and the Drehers. I am still waiting for my Fat Skinny C2 oars. I expect I will like them. I better like them!

[vancbc]

Some unsolicited advice... because the Fat2 has a large blade surface area, I suggest to start the oars with the 'shortest' oar and outboard with standard or favorite inboard and slowly lengthen the oar and outboard until you found your comfortable loads. I use the regular Fat2's Low-i's, (and love them BTW), but started way to heavy and took a long time to find my comfort zone.

[DudleyP]

The new Dreher EH is nice. Goes in and out very cleanly and encourages a quicker catch. I'm still getting used to mine after moving from C2s
Dud.