I’m moving up in raft size from a Hyside 13′ to an Aire 143R. Since I went as large as I could with the frame it will fit the new raft. At present, I’m running 9′ oars, the distance between oar locks is ~68″, and I’m running 8″ NRS oar towers. When using your formula (68*1.63) I get 9’3″.
In considering that the new raft is more buoyant and that the tube size is 1″ larger, would it make sense to upsize to a 9’6″ oar? My chain of logic says that the distance between the oar locks and the water will be higher, thus steepening the angle of the oar when the blade is submerged… the steepness of this angle is already an issue on my 13′ on occasion, so that’s another reason for considering a slightly longer oar.
Thoughts?
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