Radical new boat material (the Grumman thread)

[avlclimber]

So I had a brainstorm/brainfart driving home today, and I can't quite figure out why a Grumman Creekboat is a bad idea.

It's not really any heavier than (old) roylex or plastic, certainly durable, and the smaller size of a modern creekboat would bring this material into a workable weight range. Certainly, it will make some amazing noises when splatting or pitoning, and if you do wrap it, you'll have razor tetanus edges to deal with, but given that the Grumman site proclaims they are "made from lighter weight 'aircraft grade' aluminum alloy," I had to wonder if this was in fact the magic material of the future.

Thoughts?

[avlclimber]

you know, like this, right?:

[gumpy]

aluminum sticks to rocks, PE slides nicely.

[Mike W.]

aluminum sticks to rocks, PE slides nicely.

Gumpy knows. Someone else here must not be old enought to know about the "Grumman Grab".

[driftwood]

first off you would never be able to make a decent hull,

more importantly they only last forever on flat water. They are riveted together and the rivets pop pretty easy when the boat flexes. I have spent a lot of time fixing those POS boats

I cant believe I am bothering to answer this, I hope this is a joke.

[Silent Bob]

I vote for welded titanium.

[KNeal]

Wish I could remember the name of the guidebook to verify this, but I've seen a picture of a guy paddling a Grumman canoe down the Upper Yough--most likely back in the 70's. I think the rapid was Meat Cleaver. Any poster with a few more gray hairs than me can remember days like that. Grumman was the original manufactured whitewater boat. True story, just check their advertisements.

[gumpy]

thats doable. tandem or solo? uy grumman i mean...

[avlclimber]

Well, obviously this is a little tongue in cheek, but in brainstorming light, durable materials that are not brittle, metal came to mind. Obviously you might need to consider updating some of the construction techniques (seriously, rivets?) but it seemed vaguely plausible if someone had knowledge of modern materials science, light aircraft construction, or some welding know-how and some time on their hands.

Paul Mason looks pretty slick in his Chrome L'edge.

[thomsonbytheriver]

Hey, I think you're on to something with the inverted Airstream trailer! If only we could find one small enough, we wouldn't have to come up with a new design. Wasn't Grumman's main gig manufacturing nuclear warheads? Maybe Airstream would be a better fit for canoeing after all!

[hazardharry]

http://youtu.be/o2BQeIjUzaU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sbroam]

.. Wasn't Grumman's main gig manufacturing nuclear warheads? ...

no, aircraft and a lunar lander (all of them?)

[John Coraor]

Wish I could remember the name of the guidebook to verify this, but I've seen a picture of a guy paddling a Grumman canoe down the Upper Yough--most likely back in the 70's. I think the rapid was Meat Cleaver. Any poster with a few more gray hairs than me can remember days like that. Grumman was the original manufactured whitewater boat. True story, just check their advertisements.

I've seen a photo that sounds like its the same one you're describing. I want to say the 1964 edition of the AMC Whitewater Handbook, but I could be wrong. There was also another WW book from about the same era whose title I can't recall. It has been quite a few years since I saw the photo. However, I'm pretty certain that the photo I'm thinking of was taken in the late 50s to mid 60s, not the 70s. 15 foot Grummans with "shoe keels," instead of the more common and much deeper lake keel, where the standard solo WW craft back then, as maneuverable WW kayaks had not begun to be readily available until around that time. I believe that Dave Kurtz up in State College, PA, may have be among those paddlers that took a Grumman on an early Upper Yough trip.

John

[Roger]

At that time, it was the radical boat since it was the only boat. If you over fifty, then you might have got your creds running the large steaming pile of dog doo back then in an aluminum canoe.

Stick with the new school stuff. It works mo bettah. Trust me.

[clt_capt]

spent many early days in a grumman with a shoe keel, a big block of styrofoam and plumber's knee pads.

Still have the knots on my knees from a few rocks that just reached up and grabbed my boat. I will admit that paddling an aluminum boat did put a premium on precision - to stay off said rocks.

It was a glorious day when I got to paddle a Blue Hole OCA

Section 3 of the Chattooga was a very special place at 1.5 on the gauge