I've thought sometimes about building a pontoon boat, perhaps llike the free plans here:
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/proddetail ... ce05325267
And arranging to drive it with a sculling oar or yuloh over the stern. Does anyone have any thoughts they migh share on this. I'm wondering how to proportion the oar to the boat and how to set up a mounting point.
Sculling oar or yuloh
Re: Sculling oar or yuloh
Hey Kansas! Bobbo here from Australia. About ten years ago I was in China for a couple of months. At the time I sailed a 28 foot boat that displaced 3 tons, and drew 5 feet. Intrigued by yulohs I picked a boat about the same length and beam as mine , but I reckoned it would have been at least a couple of tons heavier. It probably drew 2 feet. It was built really strong, it was kept in the water and it was clearly quite old. I spoke no Chinese: The owner spoke no English; but goodwill prevailed. He took me for a ride and quickly sussed out what I was after. He took the end of my tape and held it at the right places as I made a sketch of the yuloh (As you probably know, the word 'Yuloh' simply means "Oar." I found I was able, even as a complete tyro, to move that heavy boat easily at about 3, perhaps 4 knots. I gauged this in a canal, easily keeping pace with a briskly walking pedestrian. Against a roughly 2 knot current I could still make headway. The owner probably had a 15/20% advantage over me but he was younger and had been doing it most of his life. I realize that your post was last year, but if you would like to email me robfoo@optusnet.com.au I would be happy to send you the dimensions. Whilst in China I saw a thirty foot junk with a haystack 7 feet tall 5 foot wide and twentyfive feet long being propelled along a crowded water way by an old lady, puffing on a ciggie. She would have weighed 7 stone wringing wet and she was about 4 foot tall. She was moving that craft at a good walking pace in crowded water. All she could see was the stack in front of her. perched on top of the stack was a wee boy about eight years old, insouciantly eating an apple. he would nonchantly call directions down to the skipper and all went along without any fuss with tons of shipping going by. Bloody good gear, yulohs! Bobbo.