Talk:Oar

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[edit] Distinction between modern and past oars

IMO this article needs serious revision.

Oars are an ancient means of marine propulsion. This article implies oars are a relatively recent invention.

The article says oars are attached to the vessel via metal outriggers. Isn't this true only on rscing skulls? I believe that the oars for conventional boats are typicallt attached via oar-locks. And prior to the use of oar-locks oars were placed between a pair of wooden dowels. This attachment method has a name too.

An oar is not a paddle. The article, as written, doesn't make clear how oars differ from paddles.

Oars come in many lengths. The oars used in ancient galleys could be something like ten meters long. -- Geo Swan 16:18, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Okay, I edited this article to reflect that oars were important long before their specialized use in competitive rowing. Now the more daunting task of changing the article on rowing... Geo Swan 12:09, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

In my American experience, an oar may be described as paddle-like, but oars imply oarlocks and rowing, while paddles imply being held only by one person's two hands and paddling. (I was surprised to find that my dictionary makes no clear distinction, between rowing and paddling, nor between oar and paddle. However, it does say rowing entails oars and paddlling entails paddles, so i suspect they assume the reader already knows a distinction between either rowing or paddling, or between oar and paddle.) Is any of this different in Commonwealth English? --Jerzy(t) 20:19, 2005 Feb 14 (UTC)

OAR is also a popular rock band.