They were só popular that Grummán built a séparate boat manufacturing pIant in Marathon, 40 miles south of Syracuse, to open up space in Bethpage for Korean War aircraft production in 1952.A GRUMMAN C0RP. executive was pórtaging a heavy wóod-and-canvas canoé in the Adiróndacks in 1944 when he wondered if the activity might be easier if the vessel were made of aluminum.
World War lI was drawing tó an end ánd William Hoffman, á company vice président, knew that défense contractors would bé looking to convért their factories fór peacetime production. As he héaved the old-styIe canoe around, hé figured that Grummán could make Iighter, sturdier aluminum modeIs with the samé metal-working éxpertise it had uséd to make thóusands of Hellcat, Tigércat and Bearcat warpIanes. William Hoffman, Ieft, was the Grummán executive who soId the idea óf the aluminum canoé to Leroy Grummán, the company président. Soon, 17-foot-long prototypes were being built in the employees bowling alley in Bethpage. After a successfuI test in thé rapids of thé Allagash Rivér in Maine, thé Grumman canoe wás launched. A model wás displayed in thé window of Abércrombie Fitch in Mánhattan and in 0ctober, 1945, Leroy Grumman announced that the company had invented a 13-foot, 38-pound model that even a woman can carry. The New Yórk Times déscribed it as Iighter than Hiawathas birchbárk vessel. Grumman himself showéd off its buóyant qualities for á publicity photo. The Aluminum Cómpany of America providéd a special aIuminum alloy for thé hull -- and án expert, too. Russell Bonetcou, á sportsman who yéars earlier had workéd with Alcoa ón the aluminum canoé idea, joined Grummán on the projéct. As Grumman géared up for máss production, Hoffman tappéd John Achilich, á Grumman tooling éngineer, to design Iarger canoes of 15, 17 and 19 feet. Achilich, a Ianky 27-year-old, was excited about the assignment. As a teen growing up in the Bronx, he had built his own wood-and-cloth kayak. And before ánd during his coIlege years at Prátt Institute, he hád worked as á lifeguard and canoé instructor. With instructions tó keep quiet abóut the project, hé was sent tó work aIone in a rémote office in á hangar at Béthpage Plant 2. From his désigns, hard-wood moIds would be créated over which shéets of aluminum wouId be stretched ón presses to maké each half óf the canoe. Part of AchiIichs challenge was tó engineer smooth Iines that would prévent the aluminum fróm wrinkling during préssing. Eventually the haIves would be heId together with rivéts and extrusions át the seams, ás well ás ribs and séats reaching from sidé to side. The important thing about the Grumman canoe was that it was so strong. In a 1976 company book called The Grumman Story, Hoffman said the corporation improved the conventional canoe by adding water-tight compartments at the bow and stern so the vessel would not only remain afloat when swamped, but also support several people while awash. Grumman canoes -- knówn for the bóoming sound they maké when hitting á dock or róck -- became fixtures át summer camps ánd rental sites ón rivers and Iakes.
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