Wooden Oars, Varnish or Oil?

[kryg]

I have a set of wooden Dingy Oars. (I think they are made from Pine or an open gran wood dingy oars). They are normally set in rowlocks exposed with the dingy in a tender cradle on the fore deck. My boat is located in Sydney, east coast, Australia, meaning the boat is in use all year round?

Question the oar manufactured vanish is of poor quality, and it had failed. I'm sanding them back to wood. Should I;

A) varnish them again, say with a better quality vanish, or

B) oil them every once in a while? What vanish should I buy if I varnish is recommended, or what oil is best if I do not re-varnish?
Many Thanks, SV Skoiern IV

[Fore and Aft]

Kryg we probably have the same brand of oars. I was spraying a yacht with Altex two pack paint Polyurethane paint and spray painted my oars at the same time. Five years later and after plenty of use the paint has stood the test of time and is still adhering well.
I would use varnish as it's easy to wipe down with a damp cloth to clean the oars.
Cheers

[rslifkin]

I'd varnish them personally, as it looks good and will be more waterproof than oil. That said, lots of people just paint oars as it's easy and holds up well.

[Snore]

Varnish the shaft and top of the blade. Use a hard paint, or epoxy on the tips as they are most likely to get damaged. Could also go "old school" and wrap the shaft in leather where it goes through the oarlock

[Dantp]

I gave up on trying to keep varnish on. Maybe I'm not dedicated enough.
I'm currently oiling but not sure its enough protection. It is very easy to apply.

Wrapping the shaft at the oarlocks is worthwhile to protect whatever finish you so use. (I've use a length of old 5mm lazyjack wrapped around, effect but not as pretty as leather.)

[misssherry]

A friend that rows a lot told me to leave the handles of the oar untreated. Paint or varnish cause your hands to blister.

I made my oars out of eastern cedar and wrapped the section under the oar locks with carbon fiber cloth. Tough, and a cool look. (Can't figure out how to post a photo on this forum)

[lockie]

Given how much oars get bashed around, I'm surprised at the suggestions to use varnish. If you are worried about looks, you'd really need some sort of two-pack finish to get the required durability.

Oil might not look quite as flash, but can be slopped on easily in a couple of minutes.
Cheers, Graeme

[psk125]

Seconding Missherry's suggestion- leave the handles of the oars bare wood. It provides a better grip for rowing and reduces blisters because the oar twists less in your hands.

[Spot]

I dream of sanding all of my long-handled garden tools and dipping them in a tube filled with varnish like they do the oars from Shaw and Tenney.

https://youtu.be/ygqReLcTtFk

On my homemade oars/paddles, I treat the edges of the spoons with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Shafts and handles get satin or semigloss varnish or a spray-on clear finish. Mine are often stored so the clear finishes hold up.

[JAFO]

Originally Posted by Spot

On my homemade oars/paddles, I treat the edges of the spoons with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin.

Next time around, try using Dynel cloth instead of fibreglass. It's the preferred cloth of people who make their own kayaks, because it's more abrasion resistant than f/g.

[Don C L]

As a river guide, I have rowed many miles with wooden oars. What missherry said is right; bare wood only on the handles, no oil. I would also varnish the oars, 7 coats of high quality varnish and then I'd figure out how to keep them out of the sun when not in use. Paint is certainly the easiest though. In our case we'd often bang the tips on rocks so we put a layer of glass on the tips and painted them. The shafts, where they rest in the lock, need some kind of sacrificial protection like plastic or leather. On our boats we used to wrap the shafts with nylon line very tight and then coat them in resin. That would last quite a while and then when it was done we'd strip and do it again.

[Jim Cate]

John, do you care about eye wash or about durability of the oars? Dinghy oars get beaten about far more than those of a dedicated "rowing boat" that is used for pleasure. Painting will be far more protective of the wood, look ok longer and be easier to apply initially and to touch up later.

A dinghy is a tool IMO, not an objet d'art for which nine coats of varnish add value!

Jim