Hi Rick, I use open oarlocks, but round ones with leathers and buttons on the oars seem to be the optimum solution. The oarlocks can't get lost - they are always attached to the oar. I never liked the idea of a pin going through an oar. It may be great for rental rowboats on a Central Park lake, but, I want my oars as light as I can make them, and I want to be able to feather them Why move excess weight around on each stroke? I usually buy spruce oars, and then take them down into my shop and thin them down: loom, handle (which is usually far too big in diameter for comfortable rowing: - if tennis rackets come in handle sizes why not oars?), and blades. I want them as light as possible, and then I don't use them as boulder levers, or for pole vaulting. I protect the blade ends with some fiberglass cloth or tape, and epoxy to prevent splitting. A hole through the loom at the oarlock weakens the loom at the point of maximum bending stress. Probably OK if you are using heavy ash oars, or oars made of 2 x 4s, but not with my 'skinny' oars. The same reasoning precludes using tacks to hold the leathers in place - tacks make holes - holes weaken the loom. I fit my leathers with the leather wet; then when the leather has dried again, I glue the leather in place using wood glue (I'm not rowing in the rain very often............) so it hold up very well. Also put neats foot oil on the leathers: it protects and preserves the leather and lubricates the leather as well. No squeak; no friction............ As for building another dinghy: I built Bolger's Car Topper and that rowed beautifully, but it is about 10' - 6" long. Bolger also has a new version of the NYMPH - with about 12 inches added to the middle to make it more stable and a bigger load carrier. Everything is the same as in the original NYMPH, just the bottom panel is now wider (as are the frames; bow and transom) Connie