I’ve searched the boards and looked at the reviews, would those on here suggest a vintage Grumman 17’ for a beginner? Use would be on lakes (e.g. Lake Tahoe or Donner Lake) or streams, family use, fishing, capacity approximately 650lbs (people and gear).
If yes, can anyone suggest any things we should look for when actually looking at the canoes in person? I’m contemplating refinishing it also.
Otherwise, we were looking at an Old Town Discovery or Charles we’ve found for some pretty good prices online.
TIA
check:
are seats and thwarts still secure. Go ahead and sit on them. Any rivets missing, obvious major dents, has been patched or different rivets used? there you go…
No reason not to, but you might wait a
bit and save up because there are better canoes by far than the 3 you’re looking at.
Now That’s
A gentlemanly understatement!
Grumman’s Are Good Canoes…
…with a few drawbacks. The design is a solid one, they’re tough as a brick, and require no maintenance. They can be stored outside, without any cover, and will probably outlast just about any other material.
The drawbacks - they’re heavy, tend to be noisy in the water, can be cold if the water’s chilly, and have a tendency to stick rather than slide if they kit a rock. But if you can find a good one at a reasonable price, I think it’d be a fine first canoe…
Me Too
– Last Updated: May-18-10 1:58 AM EST –
I would second that. They're reasonably priced, take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Yes, there's better, lighter boats, but the Grumman is usually a good buy. I paddled one up until 5 years ago when I got tired of lifting it.
Grumman Canoes
Unless its a very old, or a livery weight, Grumman; it will weigh less than either of the Polyethylene Old Town canoes you mention.
There are slicker paddling canoes, but millions of us learned to paddle in Aluminum Grummans at Scout Camps all over the USA. They took the millions of us Scouts on wilderness expeditions and brought us back alive.
Buy it and learn how to paddle in it. When you decide what kind of paddling you love to do most, buy yourself a canoe suited for your paddling tastes. And keep the Grumman for a loaner.
You can probably paddle the Grumman for years and sell it for what you paid, or more.
It ain’t the perfect canoe, but nothing is, yet.
Bill
Go for it.
Great boats to have with family .
Just make sure you learn how to carry it by yourself and get it on and off the rack by yourself.
You didn’t say what the price was ?
any canoe that gets you on the water is better then none, but make sure the price on any of those that you mention is low, since there are plenty of them available.
jack L