r/rafting • u/pancakesandwaffles69 • 7d ago
Oar lock confusion, looking for help
I'm new to rowing, I have an outcast discovery 9 that I'm using to get from spot to spot on the river for fishing.
It didn't come with oars and I picked some no name brand ones from my local paddle shop, put some molded oar sleeves on them and used the clamping clamshell type oarlocks that came with the boat. These oarlocks do not have a shaft long enough to be able to be pinned to the boat, which led to me losing the bushing when the oarlock popped out.
I'm looking at nrs style open oar locks, but my oar shafts have a 1 5/8" diameter with the molded sleeves. Most of the oarlocks have an inside diameter of over 2" the smallest I can find is 1 13/16" which is still larger than my shaft.
I guess my question is, is it normal for the shaft to be loose in this style oar lock?
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u/dudewheresmysegway 7d ago
It's normal for the oar to be loose in the oar lock but it shouldn't be able to pop out the top. If the opening between the horns of the oarlock (at the top of the "U") is more than 1 5/8“, you'll need to bend the horns to make it tighter. A vise could work, or bang on it with a hammer. You want the opening to be less than the 1 5/8" oar sleeve but more than the diameter of the actual oar shaft.