Clamping oar holders for Northeaster Dory

Builder's Forum
1

For those of you who’ve struggled, like me, for a solution to transporting oars without rubbing or rattling while trailer, here’s an option:

In short:  Two clamping oar holders fitted onto the middle and stern thwarts.  Friction and weight hold them in place, even at highway speeds.  I constructed mine using scrap ½” pine (brackets) and a 2x4 (clamping beams) with simple glue-and-screw construction.  I used a hole saw to create the openings in the clamping beams, ripped the 2x4 in half, and used hanger bolts and star knobs to lock everything together.  I drilled holes to accommodate three sets of oars and eased the corners a bit to improve the clamping action as the top is tightened down.  What you see in the photos are 8’ oars from Barkley Sound.

Here are the key dimensions.  None is critical, so feel free to modify for taste or scrap availability:

  • 2 ½” x 2 ½” bracket caps/wings (8x)
  • 2 ½” x ~10 ½” bracket cross-beams (4x)
  • 24” clamping beams (2x)

Note that the middle and stern thwart in the NE Dory vary in width, so the bracket cross-beams will need to be measured and fitted as well.  Note too that the oar length and leather placement may require the clamping beam to be adjusted fore or aft of the centerline of thwart.  Mine had to be shifted several inches aft to accommodate the leathers (visible in the photos).

Not my finest work, but they get the job done and look passable with everything in place.  Credit for the design goes to the crew at https://ayleofquinte.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/week-eighteen-monday/.  Their holder is more elegant than mine, though I think I prefer the star knobs to their wing nuts.

The sky is the limit for something like this, so get creative and enjoy the process!

2

   Very nice, thanks for sharing.  Seems simple enough to make and keeps everything nice and secure.  BTW I like your interior paint scheme.  Did you not put floation under the seats?

3

I'm 6'5", so I omitted the under-thwart flotation to provide additional legroom at all stations.  I do have a very small amount of positive flotation under the stern seat, which is partially hinged for easy (yet secure) access.

In any case, I believe these brackets would work just fine for those with flotation beneath the thwarts, as the bracket wings extend straight downward rather than hooking underneath.  The only way to remove the brackets is a smooth, steady lift directly upward, a force not likely to occur with oars clamped securely as one is headed down the road.  That's the hope, anyway!