Fixing the oar from Ireland

 

Remember the stroke oar that broke during the Worlds last summer? It hasn’t been forgotten, though some head scratching needed to figure how to fix it. First, make a plug to fit inside the clean part of the break, with added carbon fibre rods either side for reinforcement-

Then with everything aligned, glue everything in site with epoxy, thin first, then thickened, then filler – the damage actually extended right up to the leathered section.

Results looked promising….

and after adding a layer of thin fibreglass cloth over the damaged areas, varnishing and putting the leather back..

it looks like an oar again

Not legitimate for racing under St Ayles rules (due to carbon & glass fibre) , and remains to see how it performs under load, but little use broken & an expensive piece of firewood. Moral of the story- for oars, reject out of hand any wood with knots in.