Larry Eckart
Well-known member
Good friends of DB.N,
I doubt if I am the only person on this site who enjoys scrolling through boats on Craigslist just to scroll through boats and look. I explain it to my wife that it's no different than when she window shops for shoes. For some reason, she doesn't think it is a fair comparison.
So a few weeks ago I was minding my own business not planning on buying anything and I stumbled across a 13' Grumman double end canoe.
Instantly I remembered Steve Sanford's advice in one of his posts about Sweet Gherkin, his 13' Grumman knock off. In Steve's words, "if you ever see a 13' Grumman, grab it. They are hard to find and make wonderful marsh boats."
Now I don't follow the advice of every duck hunter or boat builder who says, "you gotta have..." But over time one learns to give high respect and trust the opinions of certain people.
I have never met Steve Sanford and probably never will. But only a fool would second guess his knowledge of boats.
So when I saw this canoe 200 miles from my house for $250, it took me about 30 seconds to get my cell phone, walk to the other end of the house (so my wife could not hear the conversation!! I would break the news to her later!) and buy that sucker. (Can't believe they cost $1,200 new now!)
I actually bought it before my trip to Israel and the boat owner was good enough to hold it for me after I sent a down payment. In the ensuing time I kept an eye out for other 13' Grummans and Steve was right. You can find 15' and 17' Grummans everywhere. But the 13' boat is hard to find.
It's in great shape, partially painted drab brown but the former owner lost interest in painting her.
After paying for her I went straight to a nearby lake and put her in. The stability is OK if you sit on the second seat, what would normally be the front. But when I dropped down 3" to a wooden box I made for my former Hoefgen, then this canoe felt wonderfully stable. I took her out through some cattails and shallow water marsh. It's not fast but it will make a perfect craft for drifting down creeks and small rivers, my intended future target.
The label has these numbers: C36-M-5-13.
Anyone knowledgeable about Grumman ID numbers?
Highlight the link below and you can see pics on my Flickr site.
And in spite of my "blaming" Steve, thank you Steve! I am going to have great fun scouting streams for future hunts with this noisy but very functional craft.
Larry
https://www.flickr.com/gp/riverlarry2/0T5yU3
I doubt if I am the only person on this site who enjoys scrolling through boats on Craigslist just to scroll through boats and look. I explain it to my wife that it's no different than when she window shops for shoes. For some reason, she doesn't think it is a fair comparison.
So a few weeks ago I was minding my own business not planning on buying anything and I stumbled across a 13' Grumman double end canoe.
Instantly I remembered Steve Sanford's advice in one of his posts about Sweet Gherkin, his 13' Grumman knock off. In Steve's words, "if you ever see a 13' Grumman, grab it. They are hard to find and make wonderful marsh boats."
Now I don't follow the advice of every duck hunter or boat builder who says, "you gotta have..." But over time one learns to give high respect and trust the opinions of certain people.
I have never met Steve Sanford and probably never will. But only a fool would second guess his knowledge of boats.
So when I saw this canoe 200 miles from my house for $250, it took me about 30 seconds to get my cell phone, walk to the other end of the house (so my wife could not hear the conversation!! I would break the news to her later!) and buy that sucker. (Can't believe they cost $1,200 new now!)
I actually bought it before my trip to Israel and the boat owner was good enough to hold it for me after I sent a down payment. In the ensuing time I kept an eye out for other 13' Grummans and Steve was right. You can find 15' and 17' Grummans everywhere. But the 13' boat is hard to find.
It's in great shape, partially painted drab brown but the former owner lost interest in painting her.
After paying for her I went straight to a nearby lake and put her in. The stability is OK if you sit on the second seat, what would normally be the front. But when I dropped down 3" to a wooden box I made for my former Hoefgen, then this canoe felt wonderfully stable. I took her out through some cattails and shallow water marsh. It's not fast but it will make a perfect craft for drifting down creeks and small rivers, my intended future target.
The label has these numbers: C36-M-5-13.
Anyone knowledgeable about Grumman ID numbers?
Highlight the link below and you can see pics on my Flickr site.
And in spite of my "blaming" Steve, thank you Steve! I am going to have great fun scouting streams for future hunts with this noisy but very functional craft.
Larry
https://www.flickr.com/gp/riverlarry2/0T5yU3
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