(wikimedia Commons)
Sharpie-style boats are surprisingly easy to row, but if the oars are to clear their coamings, special considerations are required for the mounting of oarlocks.
Sharpie-style skiffs are often a surprise to people rowing them for first time. Initially, they have the appearance of clunky, flat-bottomed city-park-pond rental boats that have the efficiency and rowing qualities of a shipping crate for a washing machine. But when the eye lingers a bit longer, one begins to perceive their practicality and elegance. They are long and lean; their transoms are high up out of the water, which eliminates drag; and they usually have a deck and coamings that not only add a note of nautical savoir faire but also stiffen the hull and keep the occupants dry. Raised oarlock pads are necessary for the locks and oars to clear the coamings.
I have long admired these blue-collar craft and their nimbleness in shallow waters. Their performance is quite sporty, and it had to be: they are first cousins of sailing oyster-tonging working craft that people depended on to make a living. When researching the design, I noticed on construction plans and period photographs that large working craft had oars and oarlocks, just as their diminutive offspring did. Clearly this was not the crowd to languish in the bay with a cocktail waiting for the breeze to return, and breaking out a smartphone to call for a tow was not an option.