Grumman Jon boat quality?

Good afternoon:

I am curious what the groups consensus is on the build quality of Grumman jon boats?
The model I am interested in is a 1992 1448.
Will have to travel to view it, so just doing a bit of research before I make the trip.

Thanks for your input.

Cheers

Randy

I have not heard anything bad about them.

Thanks Mike, I appreciate your input.

The fellow sent along some detailed pictures, and it looks like it is very well built.

Cheers

Randy

I have a Grumman 1449 and am very happy with the quality. Assuming welded seams?

Linehand:

Here is a look at the boat.

The mfg. sticker is too worn to read according to the owner. My best guess is that it is a 1449V ?

Does yours look like this? In scouring the web, haven't found any pictures of this exact boat to pin down the ID.

The two longitudinal ribs, and very deep vertical section on the bow are different from any of the pictures I can find.

Thanks for your input.

Randy

Looks pretty good in that pic, nice and deep too.

That looks exactly like mine. You'll love it.

I pulled out the center bench, put in an aluminum floor, built a forward stand up console, and enlarged the front deck, and a 50 hp. Handles very nice.

Linehand:

Thanks for the ID! Do you have a link or pictures of what you did to your boat? I would be very interested to see your mods.

Cheers

Randy

I'll take a couple pics this weekend and put them here.

Man I was just on cl and saw this boat in kzoo. Must not be too far from me.

Painted the interior today. lighting is not too good. Khaki interior w/ green exterior.

boat looks good! i had a 70's grumman canoe that was solid as a rock, good quality. if their jons are built like the canoe i had i dont think you will have any problems

Linehand:

Thanks for posting the pictures. Sorry for the slow response, out of the loop for a bit.

How did you handle the floor? Just resting on the ribs, or built up subfloor? If you have any other pictures of the build, that would be great!


I did end up buying the boat in the picture, now to start the modding process for my needs. Will be lots of changes I suspect.

Cheers

Randy

Linehand:

I just saw your build thread, which helped better understand what was done. Pretty darn neat!

Any thoughts on any loss of hull rigidity from removing the middle bench? This is a pretty sturdy hull, so probably not a real issue, but just curious if you could tell a difference?

Cheers

Randy

Hey Randy. For the floor I laid foam board between the ribs at the same height. It is not fastened anywhere in the middle. There is additional gusseting directly below the console and this is the only center point of attachment. I laid strips between the ribs on the side overlapping the floor slightly. These are just tacked top and bottom along the length and sealed. In my opinion I would not fasten the center of an aluminum floor if possible. I took pics as I did the mods and will try to get more of them on here. Congratulations on the new tin!

As far as loss of rigidity, nothing noticeable. I have put her through the paces and tried to sink her. But no luck. Handles like a dream. Now just thinking about more power...hur hur hur.

I had a 1964 flat back Grumman canoe. It was top quality and will probably last forever.

I'm in the middle of a lengthy refurb project on a 1442 Grumman Scrambler (1988). It's actually 14' 8" long so it's kind of an oddball. The only issue I've found is that the flotation foam under the seat, under the bow and in the flotation cells were in two layers. The top layer being what appeared to be styrofoam which is great but there is another layer under it that appears to be green foam like what one would see in a dried flower arrangement. The styrofoam was dry as a bone but the green stuff was water logged badly. Also, it appeared that the transom core may have been manufactured from pressure treated plywood which did a real number on the transom skin. It was two layers of 3/4 ply but the layers weren't glued or bonded together, just tacked together with a few big staples. The corrosion was so bad I had to fab another transom and have it welded on. Other than that, the boat appears to be very tight and well made. It seems to flare out towards the gunwales and be quite a bit wider than most jons which should help with stability.

I'm about to say goodbye to my 1991 Grumman 1437. After 20 years, shes seen it all. I cut the center seat out and had various floor layouts over the years, 25 hp Johnson. I'm pretty sure there is no rivet leakage. All her trips have been in the New and James rivers in Virginia, so there are plenty of dings and dents. Best $700 I've ever spent. :mrgreen:

I'm larger, older and slower now, so I'm fixing a new 1658 Polarkraft Dakota to take her place.