There were a lot of people who thought
Harley Gheen was going overboard when he started building his Gheenoe. The fact of the matter is, that is the reason
Harley Gheen did it. As a trout fisherman on the little Tennessee River outside of his native Knoxville. Mr. Gheen
had to be dunked only three times before he decided he could build something better than a tippy canoe.
A designer by trade, and now senior designer
with Bendix Launch Support Systems at the Kennedy Space Center. It wasn't until 1967 that Mr. Gheen got serious about
his Gheenoe. He sat down, carved out a 1/8 scale model and used the family bathtub as a testing facility.
Four years, and as many modified designed later, Mr. Gheen was satisfied his boat was perfect.
At first glance, you would think that
he tried to cross a bass boat with a square stern canoe. The canoe look above the waterline, and the suggestion of a
bass boat below. The bottom suggests a hull with an accent of flatness but it is the unusual design that grabs your
imagination.
The Gheenoe's similarity with the canoe
also stops when you step in for no other reason than the boat doesn't go sliding out from under your feet like a bar of soap
or tip under the weight of three (3) 200 lb. men leaning over the side. It is the incorporation of the out-rigger theory
that provides the suprising stability.
The Gheenoe can be paddled in three
inch depths and with a short shaft outboard motor can plane in three and a half inches.
