Lowe 1648 Oar Lock Sockets

[Tbarnby]

Howdy all! I’ve been reading this forum for a bit, and have a question. I have a 1985 Lowe Big Jon 1648, and will be doing some river fishing in some of Missouri’s freestone streams. So, I took on the task of making a set of 9’ oars, and setting the boat up for that job. I’ve got 1/2” shaft Outcast oar locks, and bought the bushings for the sockets. However, the sockets appear to be 11/16” instead of the more typical 5/8”. So the bushings really do nothing except flop about. That’s not the best energy transfer, if you know what I mean. The built in sockets on the boat appear to be unused. Are there special socket bushings for these boats, or do I just need to change them to a more modern socket? Maybe just mill out some custom sockets?

Thanks everyone!

 

[ktoelke54]

Give the sockets a couple wraps with electric tape till they are a snug fit.


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[Tbarnby]

I thought about that, but it would have been too spongy. I ended up buying a couple of brass plumbing fittings with close to 1/2” ID, and drilled them out to the right size, then JB Welding them into the sockets. They are pretty much a perfect fit both ID and OD now so we’ll see. I don’t like any slop or unnecessary noise in my propulsion systems, so I guess this is Mostly just me being anal. If this doesn’t work, I’ll just build custom sockets and replace the Old ones.