Repair Options for Croker Oars

Racing oars are designed for propelling your boat through the water at top speed. They are not particularly fond of hitting things like docks, pilings, channel markers, or other boats. Racing oars are also not designed to catch crab strokes.

If your oars experience an unpleasant stress incident, you should visually inspect the entire oar to ascertain if any cracks have appeared. A small hairline crack may just be a surface scratch but you should keep your eye on it. Even if you discover nothing immediately after the incident, repeated inspections are wise, until you feel sure nothing is of concern. Any shaft crack you can press and feel the carbon give way is a fatal injury for the oar.

When you have determined the oar has sustained a fatal injury to the shaft, you must immediately discontinue all use of that oar.

We are able to reshaft oars in our workshop, salvaging the intact blade and sleeve from the damaged oar. This is more cost effective for the customer than purchasing a new oar. It also saves the customer the work of painting a new blade, and it ensures the sleeve has similar wear to its surviving mate.

In order to match the repaired oar to its mate, we need the following three measurements in centimeters:

It may also help to know when the oars were first purchased. If we do not have adequate information to match the oar, we will build it to our current measurement standards. The sleeve and screws may not align with the surviving mate, but since the oars are adjustable, this is of no functional importance. All that matters is that you can achieve your desired overall length and inboard/outboard ratio.

If you have an oar that you would like us to reshaft, we need you to do the following things:

1. Fill out an Order Inquiry form, and describe your needs in the other relevant information and special requests comment window.

2. After you receive order confirmation and an invoice from us, cut off the excess shaft with a hacksaw, leaving only two-inch stubs protruding from the blade and from the edges of the sleeve.

3. Keep your collar and handle in a safe place. Do not ship them to the workshop.

4. Ship the blade and sleeve to the workshop in Townsend, Delaware. A large box from FedEx or UPS is perfect. You may also send by US mail. Do not pack the items with styofoam peanuts. Please use old newspaper or bubble wrap.

5. After we receive the salvage items and confirm they are usable, please pay the invoice in full.

After payment is received, your oar will be reshafted and shipped within 2 weeks unless prior arrangements for return or delivery have been made.

While it is possible to reblade an oar whose blade has been severely damaged but the shaft has not suffered injury, the shipping costs you will incur in sending us the oar will offset any savings compared to ordering a new oar. If you can arrange delivery of the damaged oar otherwise, we are happy to provide you with an estimate of the work and the return shipping. Please complete an Order Inquiry form so that we can evaluate the options for you.