1982 grumman 4.4 x 14', new owner

mikeAZ

Cadet
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
6
just bought this as a project.... not really in bad shape. will be used on small lakes in arizona (10 hp engine limit). anybody have one like it? it looks like the people capacity is rated pretty high. any imput? mike
 

donthomson

Recruit
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Messages
1
Re: 1982 grumman 4.4 x 14', new owner

just bought this as a project.... not really in bad shape. will be used on small lakes in arizona (10 hp engine limit). anybody have one like it? it looks like the people capacity is rated pretty high. any imput? mike

I have a 1981 Grumman 4.4-750 boat (4.4 meters = 14 foot) with a 15 HP Evinrude on it. I bought it new in 1981 for use on our 600 acre lake in Missouri. I have built and installed a swing-out boom on it and a pylon welded over the engine all for teaching children to water ski. The boat would slip some sideways when pulling skiers on the boom so I welded a 1 inch aluminum channel keel down the center-line of the bottom which solved the slippage problem. I cut down a slot in the center of the transom about 1 inch deep for using short shaft outboard motors like mine. I have replaced the wood portion on the interior of the transom once.

As one boater commented on a boating website, "These are the greatest aluminum boats ever made." There is more than a grain of truth to that statement. I believe these Grumman hulls were made in Arkansas but they have heavy duty extruded keels, chines and gunwales which makes them far stronger and more durable than "regularly built" aluminum boats. Regularly built aluminum boats are built by stamping out 2 clam shell shaped halves and riveting them together at the keel, then installing a transom. I gather Grumman could not compete price-wise with their competitors "stamped" aluminum boats and buyers were not willing to pay extra for a quality aluminum boat so Grumman discontinued production of them after very few years of production. Too bad.

Something worth mentioning is that these boats came with the interior of the floor painted with a paint containing sand- like grit. In time this paint wears off and the interior of the boat becomes dangerously slick when wet. Repainting the interior floor is essential and you must first treat it with a 3M Company aluminum conversion coating. After application of the conversion coating, rinse it off with water. When dry, mix sand or grit purchased for this purpose with Interlux Brightside single part urethane paint and apply with a brush, stirring regularly to keep the sand or grit mixed. For even more durability and expense you can use a 2 part catalytic cure marine urethane paint.

For motors above 10 horsepower do not see how sharp you can turn these boats as they may "chine-bite" and dislodge you from the boat. Please contact me if you have any questionsm if I'm still aroundm as I'm 72 years old now. Happy boating !
 
Top