Grumman 15' Canoe repair

Advice
#1

Hi,
my Canadian (BC) in-laws have a seasoned 15’ Grumman canoe, which suffers from a broken center thwart (deer fight, or so I am told).

I have been trying to contact the (current) manufacturer Marathon Group, NY, both by email and phone, so far to no avail.

Does anybody know a source for a replacement center thwart?

Cheerio,
Hauke

#2

FTR, the manufacturer replied (finally) - they do not sell replacement parts “at this time”.

Ah well.

#3

I would try edscanoe.com. They seem to have all that stuff

#4

I can sympathize about the Grumman parts in-availability. I have a couple and replacing cracked ribs or getting a portage yoke is not an easy process. But that is some of the appeal of a classic Grumman rather than a Coleman. I do see alot of custom repairs, some good and some bad (Gluing an upside down bucket to the hull as a replacement seat?)

Almost at the point of buying broken canoes to salvage parts - Canoe Wrecking Yard?

That being said , if your not picky getting a thwart from another Aluminum Canoe manufacturer and fitting it (filing and drilling holes) to the Grumman, this is doable.

www.meyersboats.com

Meyers Boat Parts
Meyers Boat Parts753×591 72.7 KB

Didn’t see any Grumman parts on edscanoe - mostly wood fab parts *nice stuff)

#5

Thanks for the link. Their stuff it’s nice (as is Northstar’s), but it is wood. The canoe is outside the cabin in all weather, so I’d rather stick with aluminum.

#6

Meyersboats (MichCraft /SportsPal) above is an aluminium copy of the Grumman, with rolled and folded tubing thwarts just like your(our ) favorite Grumman. Depending on which one you are replacing it may be a bit long and you have to cut and file both ends to keep the original double ender shape.

But there is lots of othet Alu Canoe manufacturers in CAN and US. Even that holed vinyl Colman sunk at the far end of the lake will have Alu Tube Thwarts that can be used, of you are not trying to make a museum piece.

#7

Thanks for the tips.

Since we’ll be leaving for Canada soon, I settled for an ash thwart from fleabay . It should give me a year or theree to track down a proper, “in-style” aluminium thwart. :wink:

#8

I don’t know what your thwarts look like but I made all mine out of some old aluminum poles I had around from a canvas box tent that is 55 years gone. Cut, flattened ends, shaped the ends to fit, drilled and bolted them in. They look as good as factory to me.

If it was made by man it can be remade by man.

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