1974 Grumman Canoe Repair

[95YJRio]

It's a slow day at work so I thought that I would share my work on how I repaired my 1974 Grumman Canoe last year.

I grew up canoeing at summer camps in Michigan as a kid. I wanted my children to have the same experiences that I had as a kid so I was on a hunt for a canoe with out breaking the bank. This project took several months to complete.

This one popped up on CL for $100 and I brought it home for $80. No paddles or life jackets was included.


There has been some patch jobs that I want to rework and dents straitened out. The PO claims that it's leak free but they used steel rivets that have started to rust. In some spots duct tape was also used on top of the patches.

So I started to remove the duct tape to see how bad it was. I used an old hair dryer to remove the tape but there was a lot of sticky stuff left. One hole had a quick tape patch job that was sure to leak.


I used some paint stripper after wash to take it all off because that is what I had on hand. I then cut out the bad spots with a dremel.



See the next post below for more of the progress.

 

[95YJRio]

I purchased some 5052-H32 .05 sheet 12"x 36" aluminum from OnlineMetals.com that will be used for the patches. I bought a little more than I needed in case of screw ups or future use. Aluminum closed end rivets and washers ordered, 200 of each along with a tube of Marine 5200 sealant. This should give me extras again for screw ups and future repairs. The closed end rivets will not allow water through the rivet.




In between the plate and the hull I used some 5200 sealant. It is not the prettiest patch job, but its a 45 well used years canoe with more dings and bumps to come. 1 patch down, 4 to go.


The second patch.



More holes cut out and patches riveted.


Just to add extra leak insurance, I flexed sealed the inside.



After the flex seal, there was a small leak on the bow. To preform the back yard leak test, I filled the canoe with water and watched for leaks from the keel side. I found one, so I used 5200 sealant on the outside of the patch and no more leak.

To see the wrap up, please see the 4th post.

 

[Milemaker13]

Your first pic looks like there is a huge fin attached to the canoe! Lol.
That boat is sure to be a beastly classic with all the industrial/ Frankenstein looking patches. Nice work!
We love canoeing as well. Have done several multi night trips on WI river. Even made it all the way to the mighty Miss once!

 

[95YJRio]

The first planned paddle was a bust. I had a week vacation in the upstate of SC and it rained and rained and rained. The canoe never made it off of the truck.

I bought a used 2006 Toyota Tundra to replace the Jeep at this time. It was getting too cumbersome to get 2 kids in and out of the of a 2 door 1995 Wrangler.

This was the first paddle at Lake Moultrie in SC. Sorry for the blurry pic, the phone was in a plastic bag.



My daughter and I had a blast even though the fish was not biting.

The next trip had fish. It was great weather for October fishing in SC.


I added some nose art to pay homage to the WWII bomber crews that payed the ultimate sacrifice for this great country.



All in all I spent about $300 on this project. That includes the canoe, the patch materials, paddles and padded seats. I received a 2 new life jackets as a gift.

I enjoyed the project and now I am on to the next and bigger project that brought me here to this forum, Peanut Butter Cup. That will take some time, but I will post progress when I can.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Torry

 

[95YJRio]

I wold like to canoe camping overnight on a long weekend, but taking my 2 year old is tooooo nerve wrecking for me. He just can't sit still. I tried a small afternoon paddle and we could not even launch the canoe. I could not even get him to sit in the keel of the canoe because he wanted nothing to do with it. One day I am sure he will love it.

Michigan has superior river and lakes, as I am sure as Wisconsin too, compared to SC. That is the one thing that I miss from MI.

 

[95YJRio]

I can't wait to get out and paddle again.

 

[Milemaker13]

We took our 6 mo boy out canoeing one afternoon. He just layed up front w/ mama that trip, lol. Taking him now that he is 3 will be interesting. Calm water (not a river!) And a well fitting life jacket should ease tensions some

 

[WrkrBee]

Our 5 yo grandson likes to lay on the front of the kayak and drag his hands through the water. I'll paddle around the lake for an hour like that.