This sale is for a very nice condition Grumman 15\' double ended Shoe Keel aluminum canoe. It has a few scratches and just 2 or 3 very minor, small dings, this canoe is clean inside and out and is easy to portage. Per it\'s serial number it was made prior to 1972 in Carmichaels, Pa (the GP in the serial number stands for Grumman Pennsylvania). Based on the first 4 digits (there is a \"1\" there- just hard to see it) in the serial it was probably manufactured sometime in 1968-1969. There is a lot of conversation about thickness of the aluminum when Grumman was the true manufacture vs. when Marathon bought them out. This particular canoe predates that sale and so is the great quality canoe that gained Grumman a very good reputation with white water paddlers for many years. This particular canoe also comes with a little bit of history, but I can\'t 100% prove it with shiny photos, or COAs, so I did not even include it in the title. This canoe was used in the making of the film, \"Deliverance.\" Cue the banjos... I am from Rabun County, Ga. (where the majority of that movie was filmed) and I purchased this canoe from a person I worked with over several summers and on various breaks from college. His family helped out on numerous movies that were filmed there, both before and after 1972\'s \"Deliverance.\"  I bought two canoes (one of which is the canoe in this sale) in the latter half of the 80s. I bought them to use on a canoe trip on the Little Tennessee that never happened. I sold the twin to this canoe back in the very early 90s. Here is what I know about the canoes that were used by the actors and by the crew members making that movie: The production company initially ordered several Old Town wooden canoes and 3 Grumman SK-15 canoes. The wooden canoes were all sawed in half at some point during the filming so they would more readily break going over some falls and they had to film multiple takes of that scene. My friend told me he helped Burt Reynolds load up two end pieces from some of the various broken canoes. These parts were then put back together (resulting in a much shorter canoe than the Old Town models originally were) and placed in his museum in Florida until it was saleed off a few years back. It brought just over 17K at that sale in Las Vegas, I believe. The production company ordered (1) SK-15 (SK stands for shoe keel- a low profile keel favored by whitewater types) from Grumman and when it arrived they thought it was too shiny and new to use. They asked Grumman if they could distress two more canoes of the same model. Grumman obliged by dragging the canoes along a gravel driveway and taking a ball peen hammer to them, as well. They were then delivered to Clayton,Ga. and deemed acceptable. At some point during filming the local \"fixer\" (for lack of a better word), who was my co-worker\'s father, was asked to get an extra canoe to help place cameras and safety divers on the water. I now believe they used the \"too shiny\" one for these purposes as well. All four actors in the canoes did their own stunts and Burt Reynolds broke his tail bone and Ned Beatty almost drowned on at least one occasion. Last time I knew there were about 1.3 deaths averaged out on that river every year, so my guess they really did not understand how dangerous what they were doing really was. I have had a close call a time or two over the years, myself. The studio reimbursed the local for the expense in getting the additional canoe, but at the end of production they just let him keep both the very first canoe that was too shiny and the last one he bought on their behalf. And according to my co-worker that I bought them from, those were the same two canoes leaned up against a horse barn in Clayton some 16 years later. I bought them for what was a reasonable price for a run of the mill Grumman SK-15 canoe at that time and his family was well known for working with the movie folks when they came to town, so there was really no reason for him to embellish the canoe\'s history. I paid a fair price back then, although thinking back it was maybe a little cheaper because I remember reminding him a couple of times that I was a starving college student. The thing that kind of sticks in my craw a little bit is that the other SK-15 that I sold way back when was almost certainly the first one ordered by the studio and I might- and might is the operative word here- have been able to track down the paper work that confirmed its provenance. But alas, that canoe has sailed (sorry) so I am really selling this canoe for its worth as a well made vintage Grumman in very good shape. I can substantiate that I am from Rabun County (and grew up there) and that the person who I bought the canoes from was my contemporary back then (I suppose one could even track him down with a little effort to confirm my story) and his family is well known for working on numerous movie productions over the years. But that and .25 cents will not even buy you a Coke these days. And just to make sure there is no confusion- this canoe was never filmed and is NOT actually in the movie at all. Here is your chance to get a good condition vintage Grumman SK-15 and have a nice story to tell your fellow paddlers as you crack open a beer and start scanning the laurel bank for moon shiners. Local pick up in West Virginia is your only option- I will not even try to arrange shipping on a 15\' canoe. Thanks for looking!

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