plastic rowlocks.

DavidH's picture
Submitted by DavidH on Wed, 08/18/2021 - 09:52

Forums:

Hi everyone,

I bought a Mirror last week. It was built many years ago, sailed a few times, and put away in a barn. Looks like a good, sound boat.
Although I've viewed it, I can't collect for a couple of weeks.

This is the version which came with plastic rowlocks, and the sockets seem to be plastic too.
Do they work ok, or should I ditch and buy a set of metal rowlock and sockets?
I didn't taker a note of the boat number, sorry, but it's there on the transom - I'll report back on that.

Fairly sure I'll be on here quite a bit asking advice, never having sailed single-handed before.
I'm in a sailing club, with safety boat, on a reservoir, and have plenty of experience with kayaks, so should be up to the job of learning to sail the Mirror.

Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
David

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Fri, 08/20/2021 - 12:06

Hello David, if you only need to row occasionally to get back to the dock/slipway on your reservoir and the plastic rowlocks are in good condition, I don't see why you should replace them.
I have seen plastic rowlocks that have gone brittle from UV exposure and old age, so look for cracks and badly worn horns, though.
Having oars along is a good precaution in fickle conditions. Some years ago, a friend only had a paddle along and I ended up towing him.
tow home

DavidH's picture

DavidH

Fri, 08/20/2021 - 12:28

Hi Gernot,

Thanks for responding.

I have a bit of experience with rowing, so I'd like to sort out the oars and fittings to enjoy the boat to it's fullest. Of course, the Mirror is the wrong shape to row really well, but part of the attraction of the Mirror for me is that the design brief included racing, cruising, learning - cat-rigged, motoring, and rowing. Like the Fender Stratocaster, and perhaps by happy accident like the Strat, the Mirror design turned out to be a work of genius. I'm sure there are many other boat designs out there that genius could be applied to - my own Epic6 kayak approaches, but doesn't quite make it. The Mirror does.

So I'll be making her into as good a rowing boat as I can.
Also, I should have done a search on the forum before posting my query - sorry. I've now done that, and taken the various comments on board.

The oars which come with my boat are cut-down bigger boat oars. No rot that I could see, and some hours with a spokeshave should get them thinned down to manageable proportions. I have the formula for size, so really just (just!) a question of thinning them down and leaving more wood on the inboard sections for balance.
Good project for the Winter.
Cheers, from damp Mid-Wales.
David