New to Canoeing - Advice on Aluminum?

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I rarely buy new anything, and I look at this like your first motorcycle - get something safe and easy enough to learn on and cheap so you don’t lose too much money when you inevitably do something stupid to it.



As far as wading I meant fishing - I fish from the bank or wade out, I would only fish from a vessel in open water.



Here are the cheap ones that catch my eye on the local craigslist. I know they are pretty ugly, but that’s what I like - restoring vehicles is my first hobby.



http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/3293226987.html

http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/3327206899.html

http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/3289997656.html

http://springfield.craigslist.org/spo/3288006240.html



That last one catches my eye in particular. I guess my decision now comes down to which one will carry all my gear and not be too big of a slug on the rocks? Not in a rush, but if the right one comes along I will pick it up before Spring.

A good aluminum canoe is great.
they are not fast, but are all a all around boat.



Guy

Two of the first three are damaged
only the last one seems to be the most OK. One has been folded. Alu thwarts do not fold that easily. One is hogged. You dont want that either.

The Osag is a winner!
I’ve paddled one a few times, and it is a good aluminum canoe with a strong build. Will last and last.

Number 2
Number 2 is an old lightweight Grumman. The rear thwart is bent down, but the gunwales are clean; no kinks, a smooth radius from front to back on both sides. Can’t believe this canoe was wrapped or broached. Ribs are hard to see in the photo, but no shadows of a broken one. Not many showing, which indicates its a lightweight. The bent thwart could be from someone stepping on it or a drop in storage. Easy to replace. The oval serial number plate on the front deck and just barely visible Grumman decal on the bow date the canoe. I could not make out the stamped “G” on the end tanks, which would confirm to me that it was a genuine Grumman.

Good deal at price, good starter canoe which later becomes your ‘loaner’ canoe. Grummans are the canoe that you can survive loaning to your relatives and keep your good Kevlar Wenonah safe at home. And when the stream is low and you still want to paddle you take the Grumman.

More first descents of wilderness rivers were made after WWII in Grumman aluminum canoes than any other type of canoe. There are better canoes now for almost any purpose, but good aluminum canoes still can get the job done.

Bill

Lots of drawbacks…
to aluminum canoes on Ozark streams. For one thing, it can’t be stressed enough that aluminum grabs rocks, and even gravel and logs. You won’t slide over anything you’ll find on an Ozark stream very well in an aluminum canoe. And unless you confine yourself to the Niangua below Bennett Spring and the lower Gasconade, you WILL be scraping over shallow riffles a lot. Of course, aluminum is also extremely durable…you can scrape over a lot of miles of shallow riffles without a lot of damage, while doing the same with any kind of plastic boat will have you putting on skid plates pretty quickly. But on the other other hand, all that scraping bottom is NOISY in aluminum.



One other drawback to aluminum that always bothered me when I owned one, and I used aluminum canoes exclusively for 15 years or so…the gunwales and other exposed aluminum parts get HOT in summer sunshine. Hot enough to burn bare legs sometimes. And if you do any cold season paddling, aluminum also gets very cold. You’ll stick to it in freezing weather!



But…your aluminum canoe will be serviceable, and get you on the water reasonably cheaply, and it’ll last a LONG time.

My experience
I have tripped hundreds of miles in alumunum canoes as a scout leader. Here’s my experience;all brands of aluminum canoes are not equal-some perform more poorly in the water and some have less tough,weaker softer metal. Also the performance difference between 15’ and 17’ seems greater than other canoes. Avoud ones with a promenant keel. Grumans are among the best in toughness and performance,but the liteweight Grummans are fragile-I have been on 2 trips where they were holed,never a standard weight other than a previously bent thwart that broke. Once bent or dented,they are never the same after being bent back in shape,always a weak spot there so i would avoid one with old damage. Aluminum canoes have a lot of virtues,but personally,other than to sit in the sun for years next to my pond,not for me.

Turtle

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

A few guys
Did fairly well with an aluminum canoe a few years ago. There was a movie about it…Deliver- something or other.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

Al canoes
Any boat is way ahead of not owning a canoe. They were the rage in after WWII. The serious drawbacks are that they can’t be formed into complex shapes, they are heavy and definitely stick to rocks.



On the otherhand you can leave one outside in a snow bank with little effect. They are durable, used ones are cheap, and it takes a good wrap to ruin one. Find a Grumman with some length, at least 16 feet so it won’t be so slow, and join the ranks of canoeists instead of wishing you were one. Later use it as a loaner and for rocky low flows. Good luck.

I probably wouldn’t get aluminum

– Last Updated: Oct-25-12 11:21 AM EST –

Like many others here, I started out in aluminum canoes and have a soft spot in my heart for them. And if you want a completely maintenance-free boat that is durable and can be sold for scrap metal (instead of taken to the landfill) when it reaches end of life, aluminum is unmatched.

But unless you are buying a boat that is going to sit out exposed to the elements all year, I think you would be happier looking around for a good deal on a used Royalex or composite boat. And if you aren't concerned about the weight, I would still prefer a polyethylene boat to aluminum. Even a slightly hogged or oil-canned Old Town Discovery will paddle at least as well, and probably better than a pristine aluminum hull.

For me, the disadvantages of aluminum just outweigh the virtues. Most have been chronicled here: heavy, very limited selection of hull shapes (none very efficient), hot as hades in summer, cold as a pump handle in winter, noisy as all get out, sticks like glue to rocks.

One disadvantage that hasn't been mentioned is the keel that all aluminum boats have. Nearly all aluminum canoes have a T keel with a fin that sticks down into the water. These are very undesirable in boats intended for river use. The T keel makes it even more likely that the boat will stick on rocks and ledges, makes lift overs more difficult, and resist turning the boat when you need to.

If you plan to paddle rivers, especially headwaters where you are likely to encounter deadfall, and you really want aluminum, I would look for a boat with a rounded "shoe keel" that is a little less onerous, but good luck finding one.