Varnish

The varnish came in at the hardware store, so brusha, brusha brusha!

first coat of varnish.
The spars for the skiff are in the background and get another
coat of varnish while I am at it.

 As I was varnishing the oars I noticed that there was something different about them, or the way I felt about them than how I felt about the boat.  I think it has something to do with the fact that I had to find the shape of the oars within the larger block of wood, be it a few pieces laminated together.

sculpted ridge on oar blade

 The shape was less determined by the predetermined characteristics of the plywood that I used for the boats hull.  I also got a lot of satisfaction at having to not only carve out the proper shape of an oar, but having to match it on both oars.  Not at all a perfect match, but close enough I think.

the dark hardwood tip looks nice on the end

Using the blades, the plane and spokeshave, and using the sand paper to do this shaping takes a bit of time, but it is time well spent and the piles of shavings that accumulated on the shop floor added to the sense of accomplishment.  As the pile got deeper the shape of the oars became clearer.
I prefer working with wood over fiberglass to an immeasurable degree, but I think I might prefer to work with solid wood over plywood to a great degree as well.  Makes me want to build a boat from solid wood.