At the Canadian Canoe Museum , author and executive director James Raffan has little use for unrefined aluminum canoes. Yet, if you put aesthetics aside the humble Grumman aluminum canoe was a trailblazer in canoeing history, opening up new horizons for adventurers and recreational paddlers alike. The aluminum canoe’s lack of refinement makes it an ideal target for verbal abuse. Aluminum canoes are obnoxiously noisy, numbingly cold and leave hands and paddle shaft coated with a metallic tinge of aluminum oxide. Grumman has an undeniable place in canoe historyThis is perhaps the aluminum canoe’s ultimate legacy: Long after the last cedar-ribbed Prospector rots to pulp, aluminum canoes will still be going strong.