Everyone at Shaw & Tenney is a craftsman, what we do is unique and really a lost art.
We regularly make long oars from 12’ up to 21’ for all kinds of vessels. From Monomoy lifeboat oars racing in the Bay Area Whaleboat Racing Association in San Francisco to a single 17’ oar serving as the sole auxiliary power for a sailboat circumnavigating the World. Large 15’-2” Lifeboat oars for Carnival Cruise Lines lifeboats are no exception. We recently completed 20 of the oars shown here with a few of our craftsmen for one of their cruise ships. We are the only manufacturer of long oars in the USA and one of a handful in the World.
The oars are all custom made and crafted by hand. Clear spruce is laminated to the overall dimensions required for the oar blank and the shaping begins. Our craftsmen begin by sawing the oar shaft until perfectly straight, square, and true. Next they cut the shaft taper then eight side and sixteen side the shaft. Final shaping is done with a spoke shave before sanding. They constantly run their hands over the surface to judge the roundness and smoothness. Their feel is as an important tool as their sight. Next work commences on the blade and grip. Each is gradually shaped with saws, planes, and spoke shaves until the final rough shape is completed. Successively finer grits are used until the last sanding at 180 grit prepares the oar for finishing. All long oars are sealed before shipping to destinations worldwide. Many are hand varnished or painted and have out traditional leathers sewn on also.
Many of the tools and much of the equipment we use to handcraft these oars has been the same for the 159 years we have been making them. Since 1858, Shaw & Tenney has quietly made a name for itself as the leading maker of wooden oars, paddles, spars and boat hooks in the country. Never one to boast or brag, we’ve preferred to let our products speak for themselves. From our shop on the banks of the Penobscot River, our craftsmen still employ time-honored manufacturing traditions that may seem old-world by today’s standards, but are the only way to render a product worthy of our name, and your trust.
Thanks for choosing Shaw & Tenney.
