Dear Q,
As I use a bridle for the mainsheet (anything that replaces metl fittings with string is an improvement as far as I am concerned!) I do not have a track on the transom, just a rather tatty strip of wood covering the GRP.
I bought a standard galvanised rowlock socket, drilled an over sized hole down through the top of the transom which I then lined with some epoxy “gunge” – epoxy thickened with silica gel.
I placed the socket on some more gunge and screwed the whole fitting down onto the transom. For sculling facing the stern the rowlock should be offset slightly to port…this is easiest for beginners and enables the sculler to develop more power. Flash scullers might prefer the rowlock to starboard so they can scull facing forwards…real sophisticates like me learn to scull with the left hand.
One thing makes life very much simpler. I drilled 2 holes in the rowlocks and threaded a length of light line through the holes. The line is tight enough not to fit over the oar blades or the epoxied turks head that serves as a stop on the oar, but moves freely between the blade and the stop. No more searching for rowlocks as they are always on the oar!
Epoxy has the advantage that if you want to remove a screw set in epoxy you heat the screw with a soldering iron and the epoxy softens!
I don’t scull with the main up very often, not enough to justify installing a topping lift.
Sculling is like riding a bike – if you do it right for 5 minutes you will retain the skill for a lifetime!
Breton fishing boats used to carry a scull as long as the boat -any ideas how to carry a 16ft sweep on a Wayfarer?
Gordon