Quote - ...it seems unneccesary to me to go to all the trouble of inverting what you don't want when Spawn Propps will create props for every group and if you have a group with just what you want in it that's all that's needed...

Hmmm... I'm curious: when you import your poser scene to Vue (without having created groups, etc. in Poser), what do you see if you double click the object, select "Split" (next to Number of Materials), and then expand the group?

It may be that with this particular object, doing this in Vue will split the oars and sails into their own separate groups. You can then delete them.

Edit: I ask because I have often had to split objects imported from Poser to Vue many times. It enabled me to easily access portions that didn't appear as a separate part (in Poser), and also let me edit or delete bits that didn't have a separately assigned group in Poser's material room.