I just purchased a 17’ Grumman w/sail. Boat was made (I think) in the early 70’s but was little used; The sail was still being stored in the orginal cardboard box. However, I doubt that it has ever been rigged properly and there may be some minor hardware missing. For example, two pulleys are simply tied (with rope) to the lee- board bracket. Also, the rudder rotation pin is missing, for sure.
Would be a great help if I could locate some pictures/directions and be able to buy original replacement parts.
Thanks,
John
Grumman Poster Images
John, I don’t know if these will help you or not but I created an album with a couple of pic’s cropped from a rather large Grumman Catalogue from the early 60’s. I used large for my photo size choice so you may have to scroll around a little to see it all but I wanted to give you the best detail possible.
You will find them here, way down at the bottom of the album listings.
http://www.picturetrail.com/ogilvyspecial1
I hope they help…
Jack
sailing
– Last Updated: May-16-05 12:40 PM EST –
We have a 75 s.f. sail for a 15' Grumman. My Dad bought it maybe 30 years ago from a fella who's canoe burnt up in a barn fire. Not all the pieces were there, so my dad had to make a few parts. Definitely had to make a mast step, and a centrerboard that the mast went through (picture a 6" wide wooden thwart with a rubber gasket sized for the mast. The 15' canoe was recommended to use the 45 sf sail ( A "lateen" sail if I remember correctly), not the 75sf that we had, and with the larger sail, it would get to plane, and was almost as fast as a sunfish. One of us would steer from the back, sitting on the floor, and the other was the counterweight - started out sitting on the floor, then as speed and lean increased, you sat on the high-side gunnel, hooked your toes under the farside gunnel, and leaned back for all you were worth - and hoped the wind didn't veer unexpectedly! A lot more hassle to deal with if you go over though! We used to tip it back upright, and sail it full of water towards the shallows, and then have to pull the mast so we could tip the canoe and empty it. And definitely have a paddle tied in. As I remember it, there is a single pulley at the top of the mast, used to haul up the sail yard (the upright). We did not use any other pulleys. I'm guessing, but I think the two pulleys tied to the leeboard were to be used for a sliding pulley to control the boom, using one pulley on the end of the boom, and one on a "traveling rope" to keep the boom from flying up. We tried to set that up and did use it a time or two, but it was a real pain, and always in the way, so we just held the sheet in our hands, though that could be difficult and tiring. It was hard enough to drop into the bottom of the boat to allow the boom to change sides while tacking, without having to deal with the extra ropes in the pulley setup. Just off the top of my head, you should have a mast, a mast step and center board, two leeboards and a crosspiece to mount them on, a rudder, a handle for it, and a mount for the rudder which I believe you put on by removing the stern clevis pin and using that hole.
A sail of course, and the two booms, a line to hoist the sail up, and a sheet to control the boom (pardon my sailing terminology, or lack thereof - its been a long time). We did not have any directions to work from, nor any sailing experience, but we sure had a lot of fun.
Are there any Grumman (now Marathon) dealers in your area? They might be able to help you out with info or pictures from old catalogs.
Chicagoland Canoe Base…
Ralph Frese at CCB has been accumulating a number of the sail rigs for Grummans over the years; he might have parts.
ABS-FBS
What years did they make these models?
Only 16 footers?
Thanks
John
Thank you all…
– Last Updated: May-16-05 10:41 PM EST –
for the information, it was a BIG help.
OGILVYSPECIAL: The pics are fantastic. The rudder system is exactly like mine, and from the sail pic's I was able to determine that my sail is a 65 sq ft gunter, not a 45 sq ft lateen.
Mattt: I can't beleive you carried a 75 sq ft sail on a 15' canoe! You must be one helluva sailor. Interseting outlook, too: "Just tie on some sheet lines and sail it".
CANOEIST11: I sent Chicagoland Canoe an email requesting any information they might have.
I also contacted ACA (American Canoe Sailing Assn.) and was invited to attend their next race-meeting on June 11-12, in Millville, NJ. These people have all built their own rigs and will certainly be a valuable resource.
Again, thanks
John