The Oar Lock Socket

• 1). Sit in the boat, holding the oars as you would to row. Mark where the oars cross the gunwales of the boat and mark this point, measuring to ensure it’s even on both sides.
  
  
• 2). Measure and eight lengths of aluminum, each 3 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide. Sand the ends to remove any burrs and jagged metal. Stack three of the lengths on top of each other and place over the gunwale so that the mark you made for the oars is centered under the stack. Put another length of aluminum under the gunwale at the same spot and use two clamps to secure all the pieces in place.
  
  
• 3). Drill a hole all the way through the metal and the wood, 3/4 inch in from the end. Repeat at the other end. Feed a bolt through each hole, with washers on either side of the aluminum, hand tighten a nut on the other end, then tighten firmly with a wrench. Remove the clamps.
  
  
• 4). Drill a hole 5/8 inch in diameter through the center of the stack, over the mark you made for the oars. Repeat for the other side of the boat.
  
  

Making the Oar Lock

• 1). Cut a 1/2-inch steel pin so that’s it’s 3 inches longer than the height of the gunwale with the plates and the diameter of the oar.
  
  
• 2). Feed the pin into the hole in the oar lock socket you made, so that 1 3/4 inches of it extends below the gunwale. Mark the point where the pin meets the top of the gunwale. Remove the pin.
  
  
• 3). Work a metal spacer (such as a thick washer) onto the steel pin, so it’s over the mark you made. Braze in place with a welding torch.
  
  
• 4). Cut a strip of flexible metal (sheet metal or aluminum) so that it’s 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches longer than the diameter of the oar. Drill two holes, each 1/2 inch in diameter, located 3/4 inch in from each end.
  
  
• 5). Drill a small hole through the top of the steel pin. Bend and fit the metal strip onto the pin so it makes a C shape; this will hold the oar in place. Put a cotter pin through the small hole you’ve drilled at the top to keep the metal strap on the pin. Grease the pin below the metal spacer and fit in the oar locket socket. Repeat for the other side of the boat.