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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Port Townsend, WA on 1/26/2011
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
Well thought out product and will work just right for our dinghy. Gaco has great oars too.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
I had a great first and only row with these, and then while bringing the boat in one of the oars got stuck in the weeds on the shore and the plastic hold broke. That should be metal IMO.[...] I used it once and it broke, would like to get some info on warranty and get back out there and start rowing again. [...]
from utah on 11/13/2010
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
quiet lake to whitewater
from Old Lyme CT USA on 6/19/2010
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
The locks are unquestionably of thoughtful design. But the opening procedure -- using a screwdriver and pressing quite firmly against the locking tab -- invites wear and distortion of the locking tab if the locks are installed and removed very often. Installation on the oars is thus is a bit of a one-way street if one is to avoid chewing up the tab and risking later disconnections. Perhaps a stiff, plastic, unlocking tool could be included with the locks.
from Far South Tasmania, Australia on 6/16/2010
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
I have been using the Gaco oarlocks on my 12 foot Cadet class dinghy since 2003. I used the half inch adapter sleeves on the pins and they have worked perfectly. the previous owner of my dinghy had tried unsuccessfully to prevent damage to the leather oar sleeves by taping leather fingers cut from old gloves onto the old metal horn type oarlock. Since fitting the Gacos I have noticed that the wear on the oars has ceased and the oarlocks have shown negligible wear themselves. It is pleasing to use these silent oarlocks in the quiet of the Hastings bay where I live.
[0 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from CINCINNATI, OH on 10/2/2009
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
OAR LENGTH 8.5 FEET THICKNESS 2 INCHES BLADE CURVED.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Burton, OH on 8/19/2009
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
[...] they broke the first day in use. Granted, I am not particularly smooth or gentle, but I expected more than an hour's use.
from Utica, NY on 4/26/2009
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
I'm using these oarlocks on a homebuilt 14 foot skiff, on protected flat water (Erie canal) with homebuilt oars. The oars have an elliptical cross section which the Gaco locks handle with no problem. The only hangup is that the inboard loom of the oars is square, and sometimes the transition zone from square to elliptical kind of jams in the lock as I release and feather, but that is purely a local problem, and I'm working on developing buttons to deal with that.
Apart from that, though, these oarlocks are very nice indeed. There is absolutely no tendency to rise out of the socket, and they are dead quiet (useful for fishing). Further, they provide a very smooth action throughout the stroke. Also, they happily accommodate my non-standard, elliptical shafts throughout a feathered stroke, and the polypropylene bearing surface is very easy on the finish on the oars. I would certainly get them again - indeed, I will use them on the next boat I build, without question. I heartily recommend them.
from Greenwich Cove, CT on 3/17/2009
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
Great feel - I use these on a 13ft whaler with sculling oars from an old Alden rowing shell and sitting in the bow position - 250 strokes to and from our moored sailboat with no sound and no resistance from these slick oarlocks - better than using the 25 hp outboard which remains tilted up on the transom - they also handle the D shape shaft of these older sculls - bought a second pair for our Dyer Dink which I expect will be just as satisfying.
from SE Connecticut on 7/17/2008
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
I have been using these oarlocks for three years and they are as tight as the first day. They do not squeak, rattle, or wobble. They are great for open water, rough conditions. You fit one set on oars and leave them, so if you have several length or style of oars, you'll have a set for each. They work perfectly and unless you want a super-traditional look, these are the best locks I've used from puttering around to full out fixed seat competition.
from eastern montana on 7/10/2008
Comments about Gaco Gated Oarlock:
the product seems perfect so far. i obviously cannot yet tell how durable it will be, but that will probably be ok too. it is designed so well that flaws in my oars i could not detect before are now easily detected.