I’ve ordered the polyurethane foam (6 lb / cubic foot, TotalBoat) and a release agent (Rocket Release) to build the rigger. I think the slider design is pretty well finalized, so just do it.

After I attach the deck, and maybe fit the slider, I’ll set the hull aside and get to work on the rigger. Foam composite construction is a whole new arena. This project is full of those.

I’ve been corresponding with Adirondack Rowing about sculls. I’m told that wooden sculls are too long to ship via standard carriers so add upwards of $200 for transport if I go with classic wooden oars. Carbon / composite sculls do break down and shipping those costs roughly half as much. Karen @ Adirondack suggests macon blades are more suited for recreational use than are hatchet blades since they are less susceptible to wind and are easier to manage in the choppy conditions where recreational shells often gavot. My untutored take is that “our” lake is pretty damn smooth, at least when I am on it, so that is not the decisive factor it might seem. Indifference about blade shapes ought to open up a lot of choices. If I have to order sculls, new or used, I’ll be looking for carbon in either style. Karen mentioned some wooden sculls Adirondack has on hand for $350 and up, but considering the cost of shipping, that’s no savings over entry-level carbon. I’ll go for “efficient” over “gorgeous” almost every time. I’ve inquired specifically about used carbon / composites (and rather artlessly included the website copy that got me to Adirondack in the first place: $300-350 for used composite blades). While that’s a bargain in the scheme of things, the idea dawns that I may need to avoid the scheme entirely.

FWIW, both CLC and Durham Boat offer Dreher carbon recreational sculls and will ship them for about $90. So the price to beat is $650 (plus tax). Concept 2 offers their “Bantam” sculls for $350, but with shipping I’d still be into them for over $500 in a take-em-or-leave-em state of non-customization.

I’m thinking. Maybe too much, of course, but $500 is a lot of incentive to figure something out.

Angus Rowboats sells plans and templates to make sculls from relatively inexpensive lumber using nothing really special in the way of tools. The results are beautiful and very, very traditional. Plans and templates come to $112. But they entail a lot of work, and more to the point, they entail a lot of wood work. I think more goes into them than what I want to put. They may not demand many but they do demand more tools than I want to acquire and learn to use. They will not turn out nearly as well in my hands as in the hands of the people who complete them and show them off online. The odds of having the right oar for me after all that work seem small. Finally, the finished product is art; what I want is an oar.

Other builders make simpler (also heavier and less gorgeous) sculls, some encouragingly crude. The “D” shape is built into all these shafts, but there are sleeves for that and buttons for the sleeves. Can I not convert the cheap oars I bought a decade ago (in even more complete ignorance than I now enjoy) into something serviceable using prefab parts as needed? Could I not use the shafts at least and fabricate blades, or extend the existing blades (either artfully or crudely), or simply buy blades and graft them onto the shafts? Get out the tape measure, and see what’s what. If it looks promising (it does!), then get to cleaning them up. Think of these as a testbed as well as intro oars.

Next week (and the next, and the next) should be busy: epoxy and attach the surface to which the slider mates, fit the flotation bags, finish prepping the decks (plane that joint near the bow at least), epoxy the decks to the hull, screw down the decks, trim the decks to size, epoxy the deck surfaces. If all goes well, I might be ready to cast the rigger, and finalize the slider, too (the upright’s height will depend critically on the actual height of the splashbox, but that can be dry fitted for measurement). Further out: the splash box; sand, paint and varnish; look at some transport options. And all the while, keep giving some thought to oars.

While making plans for the next steps: consider oarlocks. Start here. Those are not particularly expensive (add $10 for shipping). But I’ll need two pins to mount the oarlocks on the rigger. Those damn things are expensive. There’s a lathe in the boatyard; so read up, measure, and be prepared to turn some stainless steel or brass or whatever metal seems apt when the time comes.