Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

[Grumman Historian]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi rayar3,

I'm terribly sorry for the very late response, but have been indisposed and had very little time for non essentials.I do have a 15' Sport boat, complete w. sailing rig from a Gunter rigged 8' dinghy. All standard sailing accessories are in place for the standard rig that was available for the Sportboat. The mast step, leeboard thwart, cranks, rudder, tiller and tiller handle ( from the 8' dinghy ) Gunter rigged mast, boom, sail, blocks, pulleys, shackles, etc. You're missing quite a bit of it. Unfortunately, I don't currently have time to photo all. Stay in touch and if you've not been able to fulfill your pictorial needs, then I will do what I can to access my boats and take some pix.
There was a site on E-bay offering the sail and rigging plans for the Sportboat, but claiming that they are new and original factory inventory. He's sadly mistaken and continues to misrepresent photocopies as being the real thing. They are way overpriced, being copies, but the contents give you exactly what you're looking for. I purchased a set, and after receiving them, protested the misrepresentation and was refunded my purchase price, but with the insistence that they were real. Choose your own path, given that presently I cannot accomodate your needs.
Sincerely,
Grumman Historian

 

[Grumman Historian]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi Beardedskipper,

I own a prototype 15' Sportboat 1950 - 1951 ( one of several early product) and it has open foamed in seats but the bow had open NOTHING. There was NO foam forward of the riveted bow plate. It was an early attempt at placing the right piece of metal forward, but left out the all important foam. It did not even have the later stamped ( embossed) "G" logo. I have seen a couple of 1951 Sportboats, complete with open forward plates like mine, but with foam forward to the tip of the pointed bow. I made my bow into a storage locker behind a nice teak swing door. I'm not sure of the exact year, but have been told by another source of 1955 seeing sealed foam ends. I'm not sure that it occurred that early, however. Unfortunately, I'm still in need of all early brochures and technical bulletins to fill in the blanks to questions like yours. I don't like paying E-bay prices for snippets of info pertaining to just one of many hobbies. Serial # I.D. and tag understanding has been an ongoing source of difficulty since archival records were discarded by earlier controlling interests of the Grumman Boat Division. The current people in charge are at a loss to assist us with any real archival info. They just DON'T HAVE IT.
Yes, they are great sailors and take well to a 15 H.P. O.M.C. w. just a minor beefing up of the transom. ( Careful on the turns, though.)
Sincerely,
Grumman Historian

 

[Grumman Historian]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi majikail,

Since the factory has no archival info to help us identify our wonderful finds, it remains our job to share what titled or registered info we have on our own boats with others. Therefore, this Grumman forum. I can tell you that you have a very early version, The exact year of manufacture I can't pin down. My best educated ( swag) guess is within the first or second year of 15' double ender production due to the extremely low hull #, being 186 when they were still in Bethpage, L.I. Possibly as early as 1947 or so if they made them that early. Unfortunately, I don't have any double ender canoe sales brochures from those years.
Sincerely,
Grumman Historian

 

[jseeker]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

i have a sportboat i have been trying identify. I have a title that claims its a 1951. It has double oar locks. No ID plate and no indication it ever had one (no rivet holes on transom). Here's the weirdness: it has a rubber gunwale (waterline) strips, not aluminum that all other sportboats ive seen have. This strip is original but the rubber is deteriorating and i would have to grind off rivets to replace. Was even thinking ,wondering if replacement aluminum from later models would fit seeing as how i would be grinding off rivets anyway. Any ideas?

 

[franklinton]

Inquiry about a Grumman Boats Product

Inquiry about a Grumman Boats Product

Greetings,

I just bought a pair of vintage Grumman Boats aluminum folding deck chairs, and am trying to determine their age. They are excellent, and quite heavy. Look like aircraft grade aluminum. Please let me know if you have any info about these.

Best, John

 

[franklinton]

Re: Inquiry about a Grumman Boats Product

Re: Inquiry about a Grumman Boats Product

Greetings,

I just bought a pair of vintage Grumman Boats aluminum folding deck chairs, and am trying to determine their age. They are excellent, and quite heavy. Look like aircraft grade aluminum. Please let me know if you have any info about these.

Best, John

I think I answered my own question through a bit of searching. The chairs were patented by Grumman in 1963.
Folding chair
It would be very cool to see them in a brochure, if you come across any such thing.
Thanks!

 

[redcatcher27]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi Mitche,
I have a 15 foot square end canoe by Gumman, with a Bethpage id plate, serial number 661-15-S. I assume the 15 is the length, and S denotes the square end. It has 4 oar locks, and some random holes that my dad said was for sail rigging. I was wondering what year the boat was manufactured. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Pipercub]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hello, I recently acquired a 17' sq stern Grumman canoe. I'm in the process of replacing the transom wood, stopping some corrosion and generally making it seaworthy. The Data plate reads: 20-C-17-SQ, the plate is a Grumman Aircraft type with the location listed as Bethpage. Will send picture of Data plate if need be. What is the date of Manufacture of this low numbered canoe?

 

[hogiedogie2]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hello Mitche:
I recently purchased a Grumman Square back Canoe. There is no capacity plate or Hull Id number, other than a oval metal plate on the Bow.
The plate reads Grumman Boats on top of plate...Marathon,NY on bottom of plate, and the following in the middle 49-GP-17S.
Any help would be appreciated. I do know boats manufactured before 1972, do not need hull ID numbers for registration, which I am trying to get done. The Canoe is 16 foot 8.75" from stern to Bow. The width at widest part is 35.5" wide. Enclosed a few pictures for ID purposes

 

[Grumman Historian]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi zbing,

What you have is a " Lightweight 17 ". The " B " stands for Bethpage, where it was made. However, it is of fairly recent origin, and not an early version as you had thought. The # 124151 I think,( but don't quote me on this), could be the # of this production run for this model. You may have an 80's built boat, possibly later.
I hope that this helps somewhat.
Sincerely,
Grumman Historian

 

[Midwest Miguel]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Dear Mr. Lewis,

I have a couple of Grumman crafts that I would like to date. The first is a canoe (648-GP-S-19) nineteen feet in length with a sail kit. The second is a utility V (625-G-CT) twelve feet in length. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I would like to thank you, in advance, for your time in this matter.

Regards, Michael

 

[Old_Paddler]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

I just bought an old, heavy 18' Grumman to use with Scouts.

Plate on it is 327A-5-18, It also says
Grumman Aircraft Engine Corp Bethpage, NY
From what I see online, that would make this a late 1940's model?

It was bigger than I wanted, but I bought it for a decent price and planned to clean it up and sell it and use the money to buy something lighter.

Now that I know how old it is I think I will just clean it up and keep it - a respect thing...

It has no dents except for one ding on the bow that will need a very small patch (JBWeld?).

It has round "plugs" that are screwed in the floatation chambers (for draining? there is a lot of water in both ends). What is the best way to empty the water out?

Any idea what the weight on this is?

I have attached the pictures that were in the Craigslist posting. What other images are you looking for?

 

[Old_Paddler]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Have been cleaning the canoe today. It appears to have been submerged in the pond a long time. The floatation chambers have a lot of water in them, the one on the bow is more than half full.

I removed the plug and will suck the water out tomorrow.
The gasket failed.


image of plug after removal



Lines show different levels that the pond this was sunk in was at


Data tag from the canoe


I have a LONG way to go in cleaning this.

 

[in RI]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

That looks like a nice score. My 17 is of the same Bethpage vintage and has the round plugs. I called the current Grumman guys in Marathon and one gent warned me not to remove those big round plugs unless the tanks were full of water (as yours were). The reason is that the gaskets are not available as a replacement part. Sooo, his solution was to put some type of air chamber inside the compartment (ping pong balls, air bags, etc etc) and seal the round cover as best you can with either sealant or maybe you can make/find a suitable gasket.
I found that the spray on cleaners used for pointoon boats can really clean up the hull as a last step once most of the grime is off.
Have fun with that boat. I just spent the week in NH paddling another (but newer) 15 foot Grumman. Loved every minute.
Most of the guys and gals that built those old Bethpage boats are long gone as are the first buyers of our boats. The legacy lives on!

 

[Old_Paddler]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

The gaskets were in good shape and if they weren't they could be easily replaced with cut out sheet rubber.

The body was so badly stained that I committed the cardinal sin of using 0000 steel wool and phosphoric acid (diluted) to clean it. My shoulders were killing me when I was done. Normally I would have left the "patina," but this canoe was way past that.

The few small dents are already "worked" out and there was very small hole in the bow "bang plate" that I filled with JB Weld. Canoe looks great and the "patina" will return in a couple of years.

 

[in RI]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

awesome,
Good to know you can open the cells and make new gaskets easily. So far mine are tight.
Oddly yours had the same ding in the bang plate - mine too is filled with JBWeld. You are lucky yours seems to have been somewhat cared for. Mine was well loved and well used through many many miles. It is completely covered with dents and scratches. The inside paint is worn where feet and gear were for many miles and smiles. I rescued it from the scrap man who was planning to bring it to sell it for weight. Lots of patina! But the cleaning procedure was similar to yours. These boats should be good to go for another half century.

 

[Old_Paddler]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

I hesitate to use the SN 327-A Grumman for what I planned, it's in such great condition for its age and deserves a better fate than banging rocks on a river with Boy Scouts. I'm looking at a third one that I can beat up and not feel guilty.
12-7-2013 - sold the boat to a guy who has 9 other canoes - including 3 other Grummans.
He has a 50 or 60's vintage sailing rig that he is going to put on this historic canoe.

Had been communicating with a volunteer at Floyd Bennett airfield about putting the canoe alongside the restored planes, but he stopped responding to emails.

Glad it got a good home.

 

[esarpy1]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Greetings,
I've a question for you. I have and old Grumman 8 1/2' Aluminum Dinghy. She's got and I.D. plate with the alpha-numeric serial number of: D-245, on it. Can you tell me it's year of manufacture from that? Also, you mention you have a "Rowing" and a "Sailing" dinghy. How does one tell the difference? Thanks!
Steve

 

[Maverell]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hi,
My name is Mitche Lewis. I have been compiling a compendium of info starting w. the first 1946 canoe built by Grumman. I own a 1950? Sportboat ( equipped to sail ), an 8' Rhodes designed Rowing Dinghy, and an 8' Rhodes designed Sailing Dinghy. I also have a small but extensive ( and growing ) collection of some of the canoe and boat brochures from the earlier days of production into the 90's, when the name changed to Marathon Boat Group. I am hoping to be able to fill in all the missing model brochures to enable me to identify the ENTIRE MODEL LINE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING to date, since Both Grumman & Marathon have NO archival records dating that far back. Unfortunately, they have been somehow made to disappear from existence some time in the past.
Northrop Grummans Historic Division hes been as helpful as they are capable of. They too have very little archived info, and have generously shared with me what they do have. My Cell is EDIT. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Mitche Lewis

Hi Mitche,

I have an old 15 footer with the code: 27947-g-5-15. Do you think you can pin a year on it? Here is what the folks at
Marathon said: From: "grummanboat@aol.com" <grummanboat@aol.com>
Subject: Re: marathonboat.com-Form submission from marathonboat.com

Good morning to you, What we can tell you about your canoe is that is indeed at 15ft, made of .050 aluminum and before 1972. In 1972 the format for the serial number was changed to something similar to what we have today.

Thanks Mitche.

 

[PlugKnocker]

Re: Accumulating ALL Grumman Boat Info, PLEASE ASSIST if you can

Hello,
I have a 16ft 1989 Grumman Renegade aluminum Jon boat. I bought it in 2006, used it regularly for bass fishing. This winter I decided it was time for some grades, decks, carpet, seats, improved wiring system. Rather than replacing carpet in the floor pan area, I intend to use Tuff-Coat (similar to a tough liner).
If anyone has a need for an image of a specific area while I have the boat dismantled. Just send a message and request the area.

I would really like a copy if someone has an original wiring schematic. A PDF file if available.

Any other Grumman Renegade owners?

Plus I have a web site showing the project start to finish.
Grumman Project
Thanks
Larry