a couple of pics with the boyscouts so pete has an excuse to drink a beer
ahh yes and one more reason to paddle aluminum- the one surviving boat in “Deliverence” was metal. Probably squealed a little bit goin’ over the rocks.
Have owned about 35 canoes in my life. The best all around is wood/canvas. I have to Grumman lightweight models: 18’ weighs 67 pounds, 13 weighs 44 pounds. Have tripped all over Canadian and Alaskan Bush in the 13’ canoe. Bought the 13’ in 1967 and the 18’ bought in 1970. If you want to go fast put a motor on your canoe. I use a 4 hp outbroad. Grumman’s take a motor better then none aluminum canoes. Still have the 13 & 18 laying out in the mad in the back yard. Try that with composite canoes and see what happens. For all around use nothing beats a Grumman boom-alum.
@kayamedic said:
…Our home canoe area was for many years Algonquin Provincial Park… You never see alu canoes in the livery.
They are at the liveries on the Suwannee, santa Fee and Ichetucky rivers in Florida. Old slightly dented and still going strong.
A Riveting Babe She Still Is!
Old Users
confusers
in very old threads,
shall settle
to metal
where wear moves ahead,
to think glum
with alum
half-baked is canoe,
or take cheer
with a beer
pig of boat will do.
My father had one of those. I HATED that boat!
In Arizona it burns your skin in the Summer, it freezes your skin in the Winter.
Drop even a small lead weight and every fish is gone and my father yelled at me for scaring them off.
Robert has one and loves it!
It carries a ton of gear. It is almost impossible to destroy. And it is easy to repair.
I like my older Coleman Ram-16 but love my Old Town Pack-12 canoe.
I imagine that they are good for ice breaking so they may extend your paddling season.
@TomL said:
I imagine that they are good for ice breaking so they may extend your paddling season.
Have you tried that??? They are very cold on the ocean water in May… Talk about freezing your cojones…
As an add: I found out last night that Robert (from my previous post) has sprung some plates and is having real problems finding anyone in town capable of repairing the thing.
Of course you can say the same thing about wood, fiberglass and plastic boats.
If they are only rivet leaks, you can use West System’s G Flex epoxy to plug them.
auto body bondo. We used to have a fleet of a dozen really old ( from the sixties) Grummans that popped rivets along the stem plates… Bondo worked.
second the bondo for leaky rivets
I’m amazed at how much negative feedback the aluminum’s are getting. Granted, I am not a super experienced paddler (having really begun kayaking a year ago) and the only two canoes I’ve ever used are an old plastic Coleman which I wasn’t impressed with and most recently a 17 foot Grumman that I inherited from my uncle.
I spent a week using the grumman daily on lake Briton in Shasta county Northern California. I had a great time fishing. Catching! I wasn’t burning my legs or knees or butt and it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit. I also lucked out because my uncle gave me a little Tanaka two stroke outboard (I paddled 4/5 days!) AND these SWEET little outriggers. Those make that bad boy damn near IMPOSSIBLE to capsize. I mean it. My brother weighs 200 pounds and can climb in from swimming without me feeling a thing. Obviously I wouldn’t go WW in it or on a multiportage trip but for putting around one lake honestly for the cost of these things… it seems to me like a really good deal. It’s no racing rig but damn I love my Grumman.
No leak from my 1980 Grumman 17’.
Yes, it gets hot in summer and cold in winter. But you can put some foam on bcanoe bottom and gunwale as insulation. That helps with noise too (and you can learn to paddle quietly).
Yes, it is not light. But for the same size and money, it is not as heavy as those PE canoes.
You can use a kayak cart to easily carry it, if road condition is good.
If you want fast and light, get a slim skin-on-frame kayak. I have a slim solo SOF, but I still love the Grumman for family use.
Once over 40 lbs, nothing can be considered as light. Personally, I would rather save money by getting an aluminum canoe, skip Roylax or woven fiberglass canoes and go for a Kevlar / carbon canoe later.
Most aluminum canoes have flat hulls and high windage. But that is their recreational design. Use them for what are designed for.
Yes, my Grumman’s seats are way too high for my liking. I use light stadium seat or boat seats on its bottom.
My Grumman did scratch my car’s paint. My solution is getting heavy duty rubber door mats and protecting my car with those mats when car-toping.
You can row a Grumman, sail it, put a motor on it. Leave it outside in the yard all year long (it won’t take up your garage space).
I had one for years and all I can remember was that it was very noisy.
Bought a Osagan 17’ in 1985 and will probably die with it, never stored inside but that is not a problem. Too many memories to ever get rid of and sure it has mileage in four figures many with good friends no longer with us. The camping trips my wife and I took hauling a tent and sleeping bags and camping on the river banks. Before the tent my friends and I would sleep on the bank under an overturned canoe. Jim.
The very best reason to own an aluminum canoe is because they make a wonderful buffet table! Try doing this with a royalex boat!
Do they have an airport? Executive and private airport not so much the airlines. Most A&P mechanics can drive rivits.
Aluminum canoes:
First canoe I soloed; I was probably 12 or 13 years old (early 1950s)
First canoe I used for river camping (early 1950s)
Have paddled several thousand miles in aluminum tandems.
They were within my budget, they sufficed to get me on the river, but basically they were a PITA.
When I’d suffered enough, I moved on to royalex Old Town Discovery 17 footer; then to a Dagger Reflection 17 footer.
They got my new (1979) wife into paddling and river camping.
Finally gave up on tandems; I started paddling solo boats, taught wife how, sold the tandem.
Never looked back; except for purchase of 1966 Chestnut (wood/canvas) Pal. Restored but seldom used.
Have come full circle. Now looking for an old aluminum beater; maybe two if price is right.
They don’t have to be pretty, and I don’t even care if they leak a little. Photo shows why.
BOB
@jester42 said:
Aluminum canoes:
First canoe I soloed; I was probably 12 or 13 years old (early 1950s)
First canoe I used for river camping (early 1950s)
Have paddled several thousand miles in aluminum tandems.
They were within my budget, they sufficed to get me on the river, but basically they were a PITA.
When I’d suffered enough, I moved on to royalex Old Town Discovery 17 footer; then to a Dagger Reflection 17 footer.
They got my new (1979) wife into paddling and river camping.Finally gave up on tandems; I started paddling solo boats, taught wife how, sold the tandem.
Never looked back; except for purchase of 1966 Chestnut (wood/canvas) Pal. Restored but seldom used.Have come full circle. Now looking for an old aluminum beater; maybe two if price is right.
They don’t have to be pretty, and I don’t even care if they leak a little. Photo shows why.BOB
I’d suggest some purples or blues and more reds in that craft.