As a follow-up to my 2005 article for WoodenBoat Magazine on the Japanese ro, or sculling oar, I decided to build one for myself. I relied exclusively on the dimensions passed down to me from my Tokyo teacher, Mr. Kazuyoshi Fujiwara, who in turn studied ro late in his career when the last of Tokyo ro makers retired (in cities making ro was a craft separate from boat building). I took my ro to Mystic Seaport and the 2007 WoodenBoat Show and modified one of the Seaport's whaleboats with a ro-lock and spent part of two days sculling. The ro is an incredibly powerful method of moving a boat and I had no trouble moving the Seaport's whaleboat by myself. I hope to publish a follow up how-to article on building the ro, since my article has caught the interest of a number of cruising sailors looking for a human powered way to propel their boats.