Grumman Canoes: A Bit of Americana

In World War II, the Grumman Aircraft Company of Bethpage, New York, manufactured airplanes for the military. When the war ended, the demand for aircraft dropped, and, like many other wartime manufacturers, they looked for ways to retool for peacetime. Grumman began to design and produce canoes. They produced a stable, sturdy, flat-bottomed canoe that was lighter than anything on the market at that time.

The first Grumman canoe went on the market in October of 1945. It was 13 feet long and weighed 38 pounds. The New York Times described it as - lighter than Hiawatha's birchbark vessel - and impervious to porcupines or termites. Over the next several decades, thousands of Grumman canoes were sold and they made canoing a popular, accessible sport for many.

Grumman canoes became so popular that in 1952, when aircraft production was needed again for the Korean conflict, Grumman opened a plant in Marathon, New York that was dedicated to canoe production.

As lighter materials were developed for canoe manufacture, however, Grumman canoes were heavy and clunky in comparison to newer models and demand dropped. In 1990, Grumman was sold to the Outboard Marine Company, and in July of 1996, they stopped making Grumman canoes; it was the end of an era

Although Grumman canoes are no longer manufactured, a group of former Grumman employees manufactures Grumman-type canoes at the old Grumman plant in Marathon. There is still a niche market for aluminum canoes, and the Marathon Boat Group fills that market. Old Grumman canoes are still being bought, sold and traded, too. The Grumman Canoe Company may be gone, but Grumman canoes will be around for a long time to come.