Yuloh oar?

[Dirtybug]

Looking for alternative propulsion, considered an electric motor but deciding to avoid having to deal with charging batteries and having one more thing to load and unload. My local lake is electric only so can't do gas and that would have same issues of transporting it etc. The couple times I've been out with zero wind gave me a chance to paddle with the rudder which worked better than the short paddle I had on board but a better option that's not so hard on things is needed.
I've thrown together a yuloh from some wood I had laying around, still need to mount an oar notch on the transom and wait for spring to try it out. If it works a way to fold it or make it two piece will be figured out.
Has anyone ever tried one on their daysailer before? I'd love to hear how effective it was compared to rudder paddling.

[GreenLake]

i think you'll have to be the pioneer here and tell us how it works for you. I've always been intrigued by the idea, but never tried to put anything into action.

How big is your lake?

[Dirtybug]

I've seen a few short videos of a yuloh being used with good results so I'm hopeful avoiding a motor will be possible.
Currently sail on a 500+ acre reservoir but hope to get into some bigger water and possibly the bay next season.

[GreenLake]

Paddling for over 1/0th of a mile is definitely a no-go with a DS. I don't know whether it's just the non-ideal paddling position or also the fact that the DS hull isn't as easily driven as a kayak or row boat. There are several people who have experimented with oars. They are challenging to stow for anyone who doesn't have one of the '60s DS 1s, because the bulkhead (or in the oldest models the transom tank) limit the maximum length that can be stored in the cockpit.

I've sailed on a friends DSII that was fitted out with oars. I used them inside a marina, once. It worked, but I don't recall looking forward to longer distances. But, as he would have admitted himself, his were a foot or two too short, because of the need to stow them when not in use. So, longer oars might have made the experience a bit more efficient. Who knows.

But that's a reason I'm curious to learn how this works out for you. Is the DS hull inherently limited for human powered propulsion, or is it just a matter of finding the right technique.

PS: one thing I've had reason to try recently is paddling with motor assist. Like an e-bike . We had an ambitious itinerary (over 8nm point to point) and we ran into repeated calm patches. We had a young eager crew that hated sitting around, so we let them have the paddles. At the same time, we put the motor on some low power setting. That combination worked really well. It was easy to keep the boat at a speed where paddling was efficient, and the paddling helped extend the range. Already, the motor has much longer range at lower speeds, so we could have kept that up well beyond our typical 3 or 4nm of motoring range. (Or until the first crew strike)

[tomodda]

GL! You've de-spammed the forum, thank you! I was waiting to comment on Yulohs till that little unpleasantness was over.

So... wow, what an idea using a Yuloh on the DS. I've sculled before and always been yuloh-curious, seems so much easier than my muddled attempts with an oar. On a dinghy with a proper sculling notch, that is, never tried to scull the DS.

Two thoughts:

1: Most of the examples of Yuloh that I've seen - online only - have the "bent oar" set up off to one side, so the helmsman/yuloh-er can stand near the centerline. Smaller boats even have the Yuloh "pivot point" on an outrigger. @DirtyBug, you may want to do the same, rig a plank right at the aft bulkhead (rear of cockpit), extending off to port a big (I think that's correct for right-handers). And maybe do it in a way that you can unship the outrigger when sailing? Dunno, something to try, better than cutting a notch in your transom!

2: I'm wondering about your fore-aft balance. All the Yuloh examples online appear to be on keelboats. Our DS's do not have such a pronounced keel, especially if your weight is aft, leaving the boat bow-up and floating on her broad aft-section. Essentially a saucer.. great for going downwind, but I fear that you'd just waggle around if you tired to scull her while aft-down, bow-up. Suggest you rig your yuloh oar so that you're standing near the centerboard, and put the board at least partway down.

Last quick suggestion, as the yuloh oar is nicely bent, store it on deck, forward of the cockpit, along the gunwale. In other words, put the handle up near the bow and the blade should reach back to the gunwale right around the side stays somewhere. You could even bungee it to the forestay and sidestays.... Anyway, that's how I'd do it in a DS2 or 3. for a DS1 could go in the cuddy.

Let us know how the experiments turn out!

Best,

Tom

[GreenLake]

I second Tom's suggestion for storage on deck. A clip or shoe forward to capture the tip of the blade and using the sidestay to keep the handle in board. A quick lashing at that point would be all that's needed to keep the oar secured. I sometimes store paddles on the side decks by wedging their tips between cuddy and stay. Mostly for brief periods, when they are wet, but they aren't in the way.

About fore-aft balance. I ran tests with a small motor at around 3 knots and found that fore-aft balance could add almost 1/2 knot to the boat speed at constant power. Sitting on the cuddy gave the best result, but that's not practical. However, you might benefit from setting things up so you can operate while standing in the forward part of the cabin. You can put the tiller on a tiller tamer, preferably the kind that uses friction, so you can nudge it into a new position w/o having a hand free to disengage.

[Dirtybug]

Great suggestions from all!
At least for my initial testing I plan to make the oar notch on a scrap 1x that I can bolt to the transom through some holes that used to be for an adjustable motor mount. This is port of center so I should be standing center-ish, I do think I’ll be too far aft for perfection but time will tell.

[tomodda]

Just out of curiosity, how will you secure the lanyard? Drill into the side of the seat tanks? or???

[Dirtybug]

I will have to see how the balance is but I hope not to need the typical lanyard. There is a handle built into my oar to accomplish the movement the lanyard would produce. If the balance is unmanageable a short tether at the oar notch may help.

[Bandit]

I use an adjustable paddleboard paddle when the wind shuts off. You can stand in the middle of the boat with the tiller between your legs and just paddle along with sails up ready to catch the slightest breeze.

[GreenLake]

Clever.