i just bought a new set of cataract 10' carbon fiber oars and have not used them yet. i row a diamondback and althouth they call it a 16x54 it is a bit small. (they lie about the length and measure it by gunnel length instead of centerline... and they still call it a center length... actually give some comments about that as well if you have any)

anyway i was using 9' oars and am wondering if the new 10' might be too long or cause other problems where maybe i should have gotten 9'6'' instead or stick with 9'. what are your thoughts on oar length and drawbacks or benefits of certain lengths? any info would be appreciated . thanks

Measureing gunnel length was the original way the length of a drift boat was done. Back in the days of wooden boats.

I use 9 footers with my 16 ft willie. Works just fine. I know of a guy the was using 8 1/2 footers with a DBack and it seemed to work well. But he was a big guy and had a long reach.

I run 9'6" Cataracs with magumn blades on my 17' Willie but wish I had 9' .

I would probably trade for a pair of 9's if I could find some.

fp

10's seem a little long. I run 9' Cataracts on my 16' Willies in the smaller rivers (Green, Kalama etc.) and 9 1/2 footers in the bigger rivers (Sky, Cowlitz etc.).

This is one of those questions that has alot to do with personal preference.

longer oars mean more power on the stroke but they stick out there farther and will be quite a bit heavier to lift from the water on the return stroke. Shorter oars less power per stroke, but lighter to lift from the water on the return stroke...

It's all about leverage and the physical location of the oarlock/pivot point on the oar.

smaller narrower boats can use a shorter oar because the oarlocks are closer together. wider boats longer oars...

I cannot give you a rule of thumb to use, I would borrow a couple of different lengths and try them out in the lake to see which you like best...

I bought 9'ers for my cataraft and wish I would've tried 8' or 8.5'

I like my 9'6" oars with my new willie 16x54.
Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

My personal preference is 9'6" but my oars are actually 8'6" with a removable 1' section. It makes for a nice flexible package. 10' seems a little long to me, but you never know. As far as the boat length, I think alot of DB manufacturers still "measure" their boats that way.

I have 9-6 oars. 10 footer seem a little long but if you are fishing bigger water they might be okay, smaller rivers might be to long, I own an Alumaweld