As with any tools of a trade or profession whether it be medicine, mechanics or rowing the progress over a period of time is an obvious transition from the crude to the more refined . And the oars at the start of Tech rowing seemed good compared to some retained as older spares which had the feel unwieldy clubs. So it is also with outriggers that make the oars effective in propelling a shell.
At the time of the first rowing experience at Tech oars and outriggers were only part way through this development up to the present state, and is still proceeding rapidly. Sweep oars have long been standardized at about 12 foot length with 30 to 36 inches of blade, 2 inches from the butt end, which leaves a lot of room for playing with details by observing coaches, feeling oarsmen and thinking followers. Slenderization for lightness resulting in breakage brought about strengthening shapes and materials to avoid one of the trauma of traumas of an oarsman,- breakage of an oar or catching a crab during a race. Other failures are not so obvious though perhaps equally destructive of success.
Circa 1910 oars were of one piece, pine or spruce for lightness, clear of knots or flaws that could reduce strength, blade end metal tipped to prevent splitting, blade flat but curved to entrap the water and the leather buttons held in place by a continuous ring of nails. One of these early oars might look pretty good cleaned up and standing with others, but would feel rather clumsy in hand and suffer in detail by comparison.
Shafts changed from solid to solid but with either one or two grooves cut from button to blade, on opposite sides force and aft with the blade in pull-through position. Then the shafts were laminated by a web in the center of the shaft from butt to the blade in the position of the grooves and a hollowed out piece above and below making to bi-tubular and assembled by glue. At about the same time blades were spooned in two planes with a ridge longitudinally in the center. Also the blades were built up with strips glued to either side of the central shaft. While wood was still a relatively inexpensive natural material the main sources of clear stock was becoming depleted and excessive waster control necessary. In due time the final indignity arrived in the form of a plastic blade attached to the shaft, cheaper and more efficient perhaps but still a departure from good craftsmanship.
Wood a fibrous cellular substance provided by nature and for its specific qualities has always been used for oars and boats, especially of rowing type. Where is the wood now, in either shells or oars. First the plastic blades, then the fiberglass shafts and now the advancement to carbon fibers of amazing strength and durability. Once the wood had to be protected against fracture and rot by protective coats of varnish, plus care in handling, molded oar forces far beyond those expected to be encountered in normal use. Even the decorations of esthetics and identification using paint, which fades and wears away, are now molded into the synthetic materials and are everlasting. Though economically practical compared to a beautiful article of wood, the dirty black shafts of unfinished appearance compared to the sleek varnished wood will eventually be made equally beautiful with color and finish. Changes are justified by results.
Even though rowing in the United States has brought about many of the innovations in rowing equipment and techniques, foreign influence has had its influence. The Ratzeburg crews of Germany have provided shell, oar, out-riggers and techniques that have been copied worldwide.
The early Tech shells had outrigged fabricated of iron rod, sometimes six and sometimes five, which suspended the swivel and conditions. These outriggers added weight and offered a drag when in contact with water either when the shell lurched to one lurched to one side or the other or due to the height of waves, always detrimental to the speed of a shell. With hollow alloy tubing improvements in weight and water interference was made, further helped by the reduction of number of arms and an increase in elevation above water. The design and arrangement at present offers far less effect on further improvement cannot be made by some ingenious means. Outriggers are already down to, in some cases. two tubular arms of reduced weight and resistance.
During the span of time of rowing at Tech the swivel lock has been used in essentially the same form and function. Yet we have had one experience of throwback to the Thole Pin or Box Lock in universal use until the swivel lock was invented and introduced by American oarsmen in the late 1800's. Yet this monstrosity was retained by the purist college oarsmen, opposed to violation of tradition, until well into the 1900's.
In the middle 1920's after Tech had become an official rowing institution there was a great scarcity of equipment without normal means of procurement. There were gifts, physical and financial, that were much appreciated and sources investigated for more. One was through a source in England in the form of a contract to acquire a possible total of 15 shells over a period of years that had been used by Oxford and Cambridge crews in their traditional competition. In 1925 the first two of these shells arrived complete with oars, riggers and rudders to augment the overworked inventory at Tech. As was the custom, the shells were named "Childe Hale" and "Mary of Winston" but were also very British by having Thole Pins or Box Lock rather than Swivel Locks on the outriggers and odd looking leather and buttons on the oars. Whether in anticipation of their use or just to try them out for instructional interest and to satisfy nostalgia in Bill Haines one of these shells was immediately rigged for use and tried out by Varsity and other venturesome crews. It was an interesting experience but conversion to our standard arrangements was carried out without delay.
Thole pins on a fishing dory or work boat are two vertical pins set in the gunwale of a boat to act as fulcrums on each half of a stroke. On a shell they were ion the outboard end of the outriggers, eight or ten inches apart and connected across the top by a bar to restrain the oar from jumping out, thereby making it a box lock. At the angularity of oar at the catch the oar would be touching both pins and move the shell. At the end of the pull-through the oar would again be touching both pins and on the recovery pivoting on the rear pin. In between and until again in the catch position the oar could rattle around in a big space depending on the effect of wind, waves and the control of the oarsman. Furthermore, when at catch, the button might be at the forward pin, on reaching the rear pin the point of contact could be inches toward the blade and this walking action continued unless the rower continually kept forcing the oar outward in the box. All of this seemed to be a very sloppy and uncontrollable arrangement quite unsuited to rough water or inept rowers compared to the closely confined security of a swivel. Any attempt to lengthen the stroke at either end was impossible with the oar in contact with both pins and with a shortened stroke at a high rate or under stress the oar would hit a pin with a bang and be quite upsetting to good rhythm. There was no consideration o four adoption of the box lock.
For many if the early years there were few full sets of matched oars even though new oars came in sets of ten. Breakage was frequent and mostly irreparable. Anything old or used could vary in length or shape. In 1921, the manager was sent to Worcester to pick up oars from the discontinued Norton Boat Club, which turned out to be considerably shorter than the then current standard. The bi-tubular oars were a design and manufacture of Ted Shea in Springfield, Mass. and were essentially the standard for many years, except for a similar oar made by the Pococks. And perhaps the last real improvement in wooden oar was the addition of a lamination of ironwood, (American Hornbeam) on the back side of the shaft as a strengthener.
With the advent of the use of plastics and fibers in the construction of shells there naturally came the use of similar materials in the manufacture of oars. Glass and then carbon fibers with resin binder are ideally suited to molding into shapes, with in the case of oars, the option of leaving a central void for lightness where strength is sacrificed. A leader in this field has been Concept II designed and made by the Driessigacker brothers, who have been true to M.I.T. influence as their father was of the class of '37 though they chose to do their rowing at other institutions. Furthermore the button on the oar had to be big and curved to restrain it but the oarsmen had maintain outward pressure to oppose the tendency of the oar to walk inward. With the button in contact with the pin at the catch the point of contact with the other pin at the end of the stroke would be wedge the oar between the pins and a shortening of the stroke would leave the oar floating somewhere in between. A blade clipping a wave in mid-recovery could leave the oar rattling around like a loose cannon.