Abstract: The oar disclosed herein is re-enforce by a stay which is anchored at both ends of the oar shaft and is supported near the oar lock location by a brace. The two points, where the stay emanates from the oar shaft, lie in the same plane as a set of points at the tip of the brace. The points, that define the aforementioned plane may be aligned to form a triangle. The triangle is assigned a vertex near the tip of the brace. When the oar blade is normal to the water surface during an oar stroke, the vertex of the aforementioned triangle points downwardly with respect to the force direction of the blade in the water. The stroke forces thereby produce a moment that tends to unfeather the oar blade. The unfeathering of the oar blade must be arrested by an oar lock as soon as the blade surface becomes normal to the water surface.

Abstract: A lightweight portable rowing apparatus structure, which, when positioned in the lower interior portion of a watercraft's hull, is held in place by the weight of an oarsman. The rowing apparatus does not attach to the hull and may be easily removed from the watercraft. The apparatus includes an oar rigger, a captively held roller seat, a foot rest for each foot of the oarsman and a control network for simultaneously disengaging the bindings from the oarsman's feet during emergencies. The structural configuration of the rowing apparatus allows forces, when they are exerted by the feet of the oarsman, to be directly transmitted to the oar riggers.

Abstract: Two sleeves are arranged tangentially and are structurally connected to form the main body of the oar lock. One of the two sleeves, being larger than the other, is dimensioned to allow an oar shaft to pass through the sleeve. This larger sleeve is situated between two collars. The collars, which are secured to the oar shaft on each side of the larger sleeve, prevent the sleeve from sliding along the oar shaft. The smaller sleeve, being externally tangent to the larger sleeve, forms an oar lock body protrusion. Two members, that connect the collars, strike the oar lock body protrusion and serve to limit the oar shaft feathering rotation. The collars provide circumferential oar lock bearing against axial oar shaft loads. The sliding surface between the oar lock and the oar shaft is totally enclosed.