I used my 17 foot Grumman as my Quetico tripper for over 30 years. PJC has an excellent list, but here are some more.
Pros:
- You don't have to stake an aluminum canoe down in a wind storm.
- They serve as an excellent source of loud noise to help scare bears out of camp.
- They are the very definition of flat bottom hull. Any 6" wave you have to pay attention to rolling with the exaggerated motion of the canoe. It's a darn good abs workout keeping you nose over your bellybutton out paddling in quartering waves. And that rocking feeling will last for hours and maybe days after you are done canoeing.
- I'd much rather trust my fate in a forest fire to being underneath an overturned aluminum canoe floating in the water than in a canoe that would melt or burn away.
- An aluminum canoe is sure to announce your arrival at the landing after every portage. Kind of comforting to your friends in composites that are already at the next portage 2 miles down at the end of the next lake.
- You are sitting high in the stern throne in one of these babies. The seats are at least 11" off the bottom. An if you need a more commanding view, just sit yourself down on the stern deckplate, but you'll need a traditional length paddle to reach the water. Darn near stand up paddling.
- Lost the portage? Not to worry. The multitude of aluminum canoes passing before you will have clearly left their mark. Just look for the aluminum streaks on the rocks. Who needs a map!
Cons:
- When traveling in a group of composite canoes, you will either be exerting much more energy to pace with the group or you will be barely noticeable on the horizon.
- An aluminum canoe over ones head while portaging is an echo chamber. Kind of an early warning system for mosquitoes, but the source of unearthly screeches and scratches going through brush... kind of like amplified fingernail scratching on a blackboard.
- A beastly burden when portaging uphill or longer than a quarter mile.
I would add, as has been alluded to, that aluminum might be a decent environmental choice, as even though it is energy intensive to produce, it is completely and fully recyclable. Recyclable only if it is damaged beyond repair, though. With careful use, I expect one could last hundreds of years. I believe Royalex is much more toxic to produce and when it gives up the ghost (much shorter life, as it is soft) not much can be done with it.
Sportspal 16’ I bought a used 16 ft Sportspal for certain rivers that love to scratch the gelcoat off my We-No-Na Spirit. Paid $300 for it and actually enjoy using it. The inside is lined with some kind of insulation to keep it quiet and it only weighs about 58-60 lbs. I also don’t mind loaning it out because I’m not worried about anyone scratching it. It’s not perfect but it serves a use for me.
Benefits? They paddle so horribly that they really are only useful for rentals and unskilled entry paddlers who will not be portaging. Yeah, they are also way heavy, but they do have an advantage over any other material.
When the thing starts to leak at the rivets, just cut it up and feed it to the Golden Goat. You’ll get enough quarters back to buy another!
(sorry about the lame spelling of aluminum in title)
My late Aunt and Uncle took my cousins and me on a two week Adirondack adventure in the mid 50's. We camped at Racquet Lake and paddled there as well as about 6 other lakes. Our canoe on those ventures was a huge 18-20' Grumman. All that has been said about demerits is true and I'll add that they can get very hot in strong sun. However, there is one attribute that no other canoe material can match.
When my cousins hit high school they lost interest in canoe camping. My aunt and uncle changed their focus from canoe camping to weekend sailing and bought a sailboat. The grumman was relegated (abandoned) to the back yard for 40 years, gradually becoming overgrown with weeds and brush, finally so overgrown it was hidden from view.
When they sold their home (NY) to live near their daughter (CA) in their old age, they cut the abandoned grumman out of the brush, cleaned it, buffed it up with a power polishing machine and sold it for more than they had paid for it many years ago.
Not Horrible I wouldn’t consider “not horrible” a glowing endorsement, but I have found the shape of Grumman’s to be not too bad, really. They are indeed worse than many other boats, but far better than Coleman/Pelican canoes, and for someone not in a hurry who likes a bit of initial stability, they do just fine.
In fact, I bet 90% of people who canoe occasionally wouldn’t notice that they are going a bit slower than they might, or not turning quite as fast.
I like the aluminum canoe for what it is. When I can pick up a used kevlar boat and refurbish it for less than aluminum price, I won’t own one. However, I would much rather go on a canoe trip in a Grumman than not go in something better.
makes a great ice chest for family parties. The aluminum will get really cold when you toss in ice and fill with beer.
Cheap: You can get a used one for about 200 bucks.
Can smash the hell out of them and pound them out with a hammer.
CONS: Make a great lightning rod!
When bashed into rocks the zillons of rivots pop and the boat will leak a lot. Some rivers out where i live you are not allowed to bring an aluminum because of the rocks and consequnces.
Cold feet and feel. The metal is nice and cold in the mornings and you cant sleep in your boat like other ones…very cold.
I have never disagreed with any of your posts, and have taken your advice and help on many occassions, but I have to disagree with you on this one.
I have a Wenonah, Jensen 17 ultralight, a ultralight Comp Cruiser, a J-190, and a Savage river carbon kevlar Susquehanna, as well as some plastic and royalex canoes, so please hear me out.
Two years ago, while we were camping down in the Everglades area of Florida, our daughter, son-in law and our two grandchildren came down for a weeks vacation. they wanted us to take them on a day wilderness canoe trip, and we just had our two kayaks and our Jensen with us, so I rented two aluminum canoes, from the Everglades NP.
I wish I could remember their makes, but I don’t, but they were one sweet boat.
I am guessing that they only weighed about 50 pounds, since I had no problem mounting them on the top of the cap of my pick up truck.
They paddled very nicely, and were well built, and each one held two adults and a child.
When we returned them I was talking to a ranger and told him how much I liked the boat, and he said that they were just about industructable, and that was the reason they used them for the rental fleet.
I have no idea what they cost, but if it was my very first canoe, I wouldn’t mind having one at all.
Is it true That you can cook (fry egg, bake bread) in aluminum canoes if you leave them out in the sun? I hear they get hot.
On one of my first ww trips the aluminum canoe got stuck in a rapid (by it’s painter, long sad story). We got it back the next day, but it had some rips in the hull. Do rx hulls rip? Ya, I suppose they do. But the rip isn’t going to cut your arm off.
The most important point of all . . . Those aluminum canoes help young boy scouts fall in love with paddling!
Ah, the fond memories of those old Grumman clunkers . . . happy memories of sweet summer days at camp. I can close my eyes and bring them to mind - the sights and smells of the sun, the woods, the docks and the water . . . and the boats. Those memories often come back to me as I put my modern boats into the water. All of it beginning with those aluminum Grumman canoes.
Yes! And without those childhood experiences in clunker canoes, most adult paddlers who now paddle “good boats” wouldn’t be paddlers at all, and in turn there would be virtually no reason for those who make “good boats” to even be in the business. That’s why ALL of us would be in a very different situation, a much worse situation, if aluminum canoes didn’t make it easy for folks to get their first exposure to canoeing. Nowadays, there are cheap plastic boats too (which I think are worse), but for most of us who’ve “been around for a while”, aluminum is what first got us on the water.
I have a nice Royalex canoe as my primary. It is the perfect family canoe. But, I also have an aluminum one, too. The Royalex one I keep at my home, as it was more expensive. The aluminum I picked up for a song and a dance. I don't mind keeping it at the lake where I have a membership, as the elements won't hurt it and it isn't a valuable target. It is great if we have guests and want to take everyone out. We can bring the royalex and have two canoes and kayaks and have a nice day at the beach and on the water. But, what I really like is if I have an hour and a half of solitude, down time, which is usually either in the morning or evening, then I can just head over to the lake by myself and I am floating in 15 minutes (including the drive time). In fact, if I keep my paddle and life preserver in my car and I stop on the way home from work, etc. Since I go early or late, it is usually not too hot and I can just go out and relax. The Royalex canoe is easier to paddle solo, but the aluminum one isn't really that much of a problem on a lake. I get some quiet time (except for the noisy aluminum) and, as long as I have some bug spray, I can make a quick excursion and recharge and maximize my time. I wouldn't bother if I had to put it on the vehicle roof and transport it from home by myself, and if I only had about an hour. The kayak would work for this, nicely, but again I have to transport it. And, I can bring my well-behaved retriever with me in the canoe. She has never tipped it and the two of us can enjoy. I will admit that I am concerned someone will steal it for scrap aluminum, though. And, since I learned how to canoe with an aluminum one, I can revisit my childhood. There are little down sides to owning an aluminum canoe. I would not get rid of the Royalex one, though.
I love my 17 foot Grumman canoes. I have been using one since age fifteen and am pretty good with it. I have two and they handle nice. They will carry a lot of gear. Have taken them on extended trips that did not involve portaging. I will not abuse them by using them for anything over class III whitewater. I think some commenters have overstated the noise factor “con”; with experience you can manuever noiselessly. I have fished from my canoes and watched much wildlife over the last fifty years. Unless you need a canoe for a very special purpose- long portages or serious whitewatter- the “cons” are not worth considering.
There is a outfitter on the Ichetucknee river that uses some 50 year old Grumman aluminum canoes. They slide them down the steps to the water. They slide the boat halfway out over the water at the dock and sit on the stern. Then they have the client step out to the bow in the cantilevered boat. Once loaded they lower it into the water.
I got a Mad River. I don’t think it would survive that treatment long.
@gamblelawfirm@gmail.com said:
Unless you need a canoe for a very special purpose- long portages or serious whitewatter- the “cons” are not worth considering.
That may be true for you, but even though there’s a soft spot in my heart for Grummans, the fact that they are rather slow and ponderous is a “con” that, for me, goes beyond the “special purposes” that you named.