Edmond Warre

“ In the early stages of the transition from paddling to rowing, the oar would naturally be used at an acute angle vertically to the boat’s side. In paddling the upper hand is used to push from you, the lower hand to pull towards you. But in rowing both hands are used to pull towards you. ”

“ The loom below the button is not rounded but is more of an oval to the front with a flat back. From the oval front a spine runs down into the blade, in some cases to nearly half its length. During the last few years the so-called “girder” oars, with much thicker looms but double grooved along their length, have been used for racing purposes. This invention gives additional strength and stiffness, without increasing the weight of the oar, which varies a little but is usually about 8 ℔. ”

“ Experience would demand a thicker loom, and would soon teach the desirability of increasing the leverage where possible, and upon this would arise naturally the practical questions of the length of the oar, of the breadth of the blade, and of the right proportion of the parts of the oar, inboard and outboard, to each other. ”