✅ SOLVED what is this thing?

tim185 · May 19, 2014

Found this today. The bottom is pointed as well as threaded. The loop is not rusted thru. It's made like that.
Thanks for looking and HH.
Tim

Back-of-the-boat · May 20, 2014

That is for holding an oar on a row boat it screws into the boat.It is called an oar lock.

TomPA · May 20, 2014

Apparently from "Back-of-the-boat" you have had a good view of these objects!

Mud Hut · May 20, 2014

An oar lock has to be able to pivot. I don't' see any mechanism to allow for that. Also, you would have to thread the oar through the hole which would be horribly inconvenient.

yaxthri · May 20, 2014

Mud Hut said:
An oar lock has to be able to pivot. I don't' see any mechanism to allow for that. Also, you would have to thread the oar through the hole which would be horribly inconvenient.

One can find lots of oar locks that have an almost closed circular part where the oar is almost permanently in place and ready for use. I agree about the pivoting, never seen one with a threaded, conical screw-in part. Well, it could work as a pivot-point if not screwed all the way in but the wear on the wooden base...

Does this thing look like it's made up of more than one (rusted together) pieces or is it just my eyes playing tricks on me? Reminds me of a steer's nose clamp...

Mud Hut · May 20, 2014

yaxthri said:
One can find lots of oar locks that have an almost closed circular part where the oar is almost permanently in place and ready for use. I agree about the pivoting, never seen one with a threaded, conical screw-in part. Well, it could work as a pivot-point if not screwed all the way in but the wear on the wooden base...

Does this thing look like it's made up of more than one (rusted together) pieces or is it just my eyes playing tricks on me? Reminds me of a steer's nose clamp...

I agree, but the enclosed ones still have a pivot pin whereby the oar with the oar lock in tow, can be removed from the boat.
I am thinking that this is a pipe bracket of some sort, perhaps used to mount a vertical pipe to the side of a house or something of that nature.

bigfoot1 · May 20, 2014

looks like a rein guide....

Back-of-the-boat · May 20, 2014

Mud Hut said:
An oar lock has to be able to pivot. I don't' see any mechanism to allow for that. Also, you would have to thread the oar through the hole which would be horribly inconvenient.

I agree that oars should pivot, but on the lake I grew up fishing, that is what they had screwed into the boat's side rail and the oars didn't fit tight they were a sloppy fit and could slide out if you weren't careful, lost an oar more than once out in the middle of the lake.Maybe they were intended for another use as Bigfoot1 suggests, but on the lake I fished as a child, that is what was on the row boats.

tim185 · May 20, 2014

Ya know, now that you mention it I, too, have seen those on boats before. The thing is.... I'm thinking it may be a rein due to the location and lack of water near anywhere remotely close to where I found this. Other items found near this old foundation site date early 1900's (Buttons). But then again a horse and buggy pulling a boat wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility here in MO either in yesteryears or tomrrow.

Thanks folks. I really appreciate your help. I'm marking this solved and moving on with either two as a possibility.
Tim