Shortly thereafter former Grumman executives formed the Marathon Boat Group to produce the canoes. Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) bought the division in 1990 and produced the last Grumman-brand canoe in 1996. Designed for the Great Lakes, it measured 22' 3". in 1952, and in 1988 Grumman produced the largest aluminum boat in its history at Marathon. By the end of World War II Grumman was producing a line of 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20 foot canoes. "In the summer of 1944, after portaging a heavy wood and canvas canoe on a fishing trip in the Adirondack Mountains, William Hoffman, Vice President of Grumman Aircraft Engineering, had an idea: What about making a canoe from the same lightweight, stretch-formed aluminum that Grumman had used to become the single largest producer of carrier-based fighter planes during World War II? In 1945, the very first aluminum canoe, a 13-footer, was produced at the aircraft plant in Bethpage, Long Island.
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