Determining Your Type of Sleeves and Collars

These are the traditional sleeves and collars for three-sided design, originally created for the macon oars. The three flat sides allowed a macon oar to be used on either the port or starboard side. Side-specific cleaver blades made the third side "moot." Because of boathouse fleet needs in North America, in particular the use of "clam" adjustment clip mechanisms, we continued to use this sleeve on the majority of sweep oars until early 2009. The three-sided style of sleeve takes the standard "blue clam." As of February 2009, we have migrated all sweep oar production to the new asymmetric sleeve. We will continue to offer the traditional sweep sleeves, but only upon advance request, for large programs who wish to keep consistency.

Please note:The default specification unless otherwise agreed will be the most current version of the asymmetric sleeve, the Mark 3 design.

This version of the asymmetric sculling sleeve was designed to best accomodate the side-specific cleaver style blade. Once the three-sided sleeves were no longer necessary, the change in design reflects a focus on the two flat sides that determine square or feather position. Areas not involved in the square or feather alignment are rounded, to better facilitate rotation in the oarlock. A small flat space at the "front" of the sleeve allows for more effective square-blade drills. The sleeve is held together by eight small screws. We continue to offer these sleeves on the S3 Intermediate sculls. We also have a small stock available for those ordering S2 or S4 who prefer this shape, as it is slightly different than the Mark 3 version.

The current version of our asymmetric sleeve and collar reflects some operational advances since the inception of the Mark 2 design. The change in profile further improves handling in the oarlock and reduces some manufacturing inefficiencies that slowed our ability to meet demand. Both asymmetric designs improve oar handling, but the Mark 3 is more sustainable from a production standpoint for the S2 and S4 lines, lowering costs and increasing availability for our customers. The sleeve is held together by eight interlocking clips, integral to the design. Early versions of the rowing sleeve were held together by eight screws, but the most current uses the clips. This is our current production model for all S2 and S4 sculling oars, and as of February 2009 it is the standard design for our sweep oars. We will continue to offer the traditional sweep sleeves upon specific request for large programs who wish to keep consistency with older sets in their fleet, but we do urge programs to consider the wide acceptance of this design among Croker users at the elite level.