Durham Boat Company, Inc. warrants that the Dreher oars and sculls will be free from defects in workmanship and materials for a period of two (2) years from the ship date as outlined below:
A. This warranty only extends to the original purchaser of the product.
B. The warranty covers the Dreher sweeps and sculls and each of their component parts. However, this warranty does not cover normal product wear (wearing parts include, but are not limited to, grips, handle clamps, sleeves including TFA bearing surface, nut, and collars) and any product failure caused by off water damage, or any misuse or damage to the product, while in the possession of the purchaser, including:
1. Use that over loads the design limits of the oars, such as full power rowing or seat racing with less than a full boat. The oars are designed to withstand the forces generated under normal racing conditions.
2. Boat stopping crabs can snap oars under sufficient pressure and may result in the shaft impacting or wedging between the metal pin/rigger resulting in damage to the oar shaft, which would result in immediate or later breakage.
3. With respect to tank oars/sculls: Due the fact that tank rowing has an additional mass of water, not seen in the boat, changes in either power or stroke rating, when at full power must be done gradually. Racing starts or less then one-minute pieces should not be done in an indoor rowing tank, or breakage could occur, which will breach the warranty.
4. Over tightening of handle bolts could cause damage to the shaft.
5. Rowing with an under tightened oar handle could cause damage to the oar handle. Handle tightness should be checked frequently for all oars including tank oars. If overlooked, the oar handle can work its way out to a point where there is insufficient over-lap and the handle can be vulnerable to damage of breaking.
6. Overheating the oar when changing or replacing blades when using a heat gun is problematic due to potential of damage due to unequal application of heat.
7. Extending the oar handle beyond the range of adjustment: The oars are custom made with customer specified average length and inboard setting. Settings outside this range will void the warranty.
8. Errors in ordering the desired specifications is the sole responsibility of the customer and any rework required to achieve an alternate specification will be done on a time and material basis.
C. In the event of a defect covered by this warranty, Durham Boat Company will correct the defect, without charge to the consumer, within a reasonable time frame of its receipt of the oar or the part that is the subject of the warranty claim, together with the information described below. The remedy will consist of repair or replacement of the product, at Durham Boat Company’s Inc. discretion.
D. Any alteration of Dreher Oars, without Durham Boat Company’s approval may void our warranty.
E. This warranty presumes that annual preventative maintenance be conducted on the oars: (i.e., Check each blade for signs of routine wear: Scratches, dings, delamination cracks, etc. and repair and touch up epoxy and paint job, if needed).
F. Damage during shipping is outside this warranty coverage. Goods must be inspected upon delivery and if damage is observed, a claim must be initiated by the customers.
G. In the event of a collision or unusual event with the oars or sculls, they should be checked over for damage: cracks in the shaft, water in the oar, dings, scratches in the blade, etc. and that should be documented in an oar incident log with the nature and cause of the incident and the corrective action taken.
H. In order to initiate a warranty issue, please contact Durham Boat Company’s Customer Service and describe the problem as follows:
1. Describe the nature of the problem;
2. Part of the oar that had the problem;
3. If a blade issue, the side in question;
4. When the problem first manifested itself.
5. Other information may be gathered to fully define the problem.
I. Oar specifications:
1. Total Length +/- 5 mm,
2. Sleeve Placement +/- 5 mm,
3. Oar Pitch at midpoint setting +/- 0.5 degrees,
4. Historical deflection protocol as in Rüdern and oar manufacturers is no longer relevant because the apparatus dimensions were designed for a much longer oar that had standard lengths and standard sized symmetrical blade shape. Today the oar lengths vary widely between model and the average total length of the oar has decreased. Today’s oars of all manufactures have considerably shorter so that the apparent stiffness has increased requiring a recalibration of the stiffness to not just include that of the shaft, but to adjust stiffness to be more in-line with the perceived stiffness by the athletes including the blade and handle. Today one could not use the dimensions of the historic protocol without having the fulcrum point be out of alignment with the average collar position and the positioning of the weight onto the blade.
J. To get expedited service, return the defective oar / oars ASAP at your cost. We will attempt to fix the oars as expeditiously as possible. If we deem this issue a warranty item, then Durham Boat Company will return the item at our cost. If not we will quote the material and labor price before doing the repair and upon approval will repair or replace any damaged parts and charge the customer for shipping.
K. For packaging and shipping advice contact Sales/Customer at: sales@durhamboat.com or Jean at +1 (603)-659-7575
Note: This limited warranty may be updated at any time.