We finally got around to putting leathers on our longleaf pine oars, used a kit from Shaw & Tenney.
The kit includes the instructions, leather, 2 needles, the button leather and waxed dacron thread.
The first thing to do is mark where the leathers will go on the oars. Shaw & Tenney give measurements based on oar length, and those measurement matched up to marks we had made for use on our Penobscot 14. For these 7 1/2 foot oars, the center of the leather is 25 1/4 inches from the end of the oar handle. Then wrap the leather around the oar and mark the leather, leaving a 1/8 to 3/16 inch gap. We also marked he backside of the leather with Blade so we would know which end was which, as it matters if the oar is tapered.
Next we cut the leather to width and made marks for where we would punch holes for the threads.
3/16th of an inch from the edge, 3/8th inches apart. Easy to do with this square that has the edge marked in eighths.
Nice little egg handle awl made by Dritz, sold at some Walmarts.
The awl was good to mark the hole but this 6 sized leather punch was the way to go to make all of the holes. They need to be of reasonable size to allow the needle and Dacron thread to pass through.
The leather is 10 inches long, we marked 5 inches on either side of the center mark so we'd know where to place the leather.
The kit comes with two 6 foot lengths of Dacron thread wrapped around 2 needles. Separate the threads and put a needle on each end of one thread.
Start on one end and put a baseball or shoelace stich all the way down. Use tape or string to hold the leather in place.
Work back, doubling the stitch.
End the stitch with a square knot buried under the leather.
Flatten the stitch with the Skipper's rolling pin.
Leather for buttons is also included, but we use closed oarlocks and like to be able to remove the oarlocks.
The oars are used on our Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES. Our neighbor Al gave them to us, his Uncle made them for a Florida Mullet boat over 70 years ago. So far we have put about 30 miles on them, including a stint on BARBASHELA.
Log of ST. JACQUES.
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