© Paul Fraser
Aroline
was
the
first
all
alloy,
aircraft
riveted
aluminum
boat
in
Canada,
and
arguably
in
the
world.
Founded
by
George
Narcisse
Giguere,
born
August
5,
1905
in
Keewatin,
Ontario,
Canada,
Aroline
produced
thousands
of
practical,
affordable,
durable,
runabouts
from
the
1930's
until
the
company's
demise
in
the
early
1990's.
The
plant
was
located
at
26
Archibald
Street
in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba,
Canada.
Aroline
had
a
loyal
following
of
return
customers
who
had
come
to
realize
that
quality
doesn't
necessarily
mean
expensive,
and
the
company
went
on
to
fill
orders
worldwide.
At
it's
peak
in
the
late
1960's,
the
factory
was
employing
30
men
and
turning
out
an
average
of
one
boat
per
day,
year
around.
The
1965
price
of
$695.00
would
make
you
the
proud
owner
of
a
16'
"Cabinaire",
completely
rigged
and
delivered
to
your
home,
needing
just
the
power
to
complete
the
package.
Built
using
anodized
.080
gauge
aluminum,
sealed
with
"Plyo-bond"
and
double
riveted,
with
twice
as
many
ribs
and
keels
as
any
other
manufacturer
of
the
day,
Aroline
was
the
boat
of
choice.
Aroline,
being
the
first,
really
had
NO
competition
to
speak
of
until
"Lone
Star"
boats
of
Texas
and
a
few
others
jumped
on
the
bandwagon
in
the
early
1950's.
Soon
"StarCraft",
"Springbok","Lund","Crestliner"
and
a
myriad
of
others
ensured
that
Aroline's
market
share
would
be
shrunken
to
a
mere
shadow
of
it's
former
glory.
Nonetheless,
Aroline
managed
fine
until,
free-trade
and
shipping
tariffs
made
it
all
but
impossible
for
a
small
Canadian
boat
manufacturer
to
compete
with
the
massive
multinational
firms
sprouting
up
all
around
the
continent.
Aroline
sadly
closed
it's
doors
when
George
Giguere
at
age
90
was
too
old
to
manage the failing business and the end of an era had been reached.
Welcome
Aroline.com
George (1957) at his beloved "Camp"
in front of Sireco 1
The
"Lake
of
the
Woods"
is
a
massive
lake
encompassing
two
Canadian
provinces
and
the
state
of
Minnesota,
boasting
65,000
miles
of
shoreline
and
14,500
islands,
and
so
George
built
a
larger
boat
to
access
his
"Camp".
It
was
a
25'
closed
canopy
inboard,
known
as
"Sireco",named
after
Echo
Bay,
where
his
"Camp"
was
located.
He
experimented
with
larger
boats
and
in
1967
launched
a
42'
aluminum
boat
for
his
own
use.
It
was named "Sireco 2".
George
spent
much
of
his
youth
fishing
and
hunting
on
"The
Lake
of
The
Woods"
and
returned
each
summer
to
his
cottage
which
he
called
his
"The
Camp"
where
he
spent
countless
hours
fishing
for
walleye
and
in
the
fall,
lake
trout,
when
he
wasn't
out
trying
a
new
hull
design,or
"tweaking"his
Aroline
Racer
the
"Speedaire"
with
a
Mercury
KG9
with
a
"quickie"
lower
end.
He
flipped
it
in
a
race
at
Lac
Du
Bonnet,
Manitoba,
on
July
1,
1952
the
day his only daughter was born, and almost drowned, ending his racing days.
Building Sireco 1 (circa 1949)
George
travelled
south
to
the
US
on
business
to
set
up
dealers
and
locate
suppliers
for
his
expanding
business.He
loved
the
American
entreprenural
spirit
and
hated
Canadian
winters,
so
in
1970
he
became
an
American
citizen
and
moved
to
Port
Charlotte,
Florida,
but
returned
every
summer
to
oversee
the
business
and
go
to
"The
Camp".
On
his
travels
South,
he
would
stop
and
go
to
the
Chicago
Boat
show,
and
in
Florida,
The
Miami
Boat
Show,
where
he
would
always
see
a
new
idea
or
innovation
that
he
would
laugh
about
to
himself,
and
when
questioned
about
it,
his
reply
would
be
"
I
tried
that
in
1940!"
followed
by
"It'll
never
work."
or
occasionally
he
would
praise
the
idea
and
immediately
go
to
work
to
improve on it.
George piloting a late 1940's Aroline Racer, The "Speedaire"
The
boat
that
Aroline
was
best
known
for
was
the
"Cabinaire",
a
16'
flat
bottom
runabout
with
a
closed
canopy
that
had
awning
style
opening
windows
on
the
front.
The
boat
was
such
a
sucess
that
it
won
first
prize
in
Milan,
Italy
at
the
"International
Boat
Show"
in
1957
for
"most
innovative
new
idea".
Thousands
of
these
little
crafts
are
still
seen
gliding
across
lakes
around
the globe.
Late 1950's "Cabinaire" The boat that won the hearts of
thousands.
George
had
many
"firsts"
in
the
boat
business,
and
not
the
least
of
which
was
the
all-alloy
aircraft
riveted
boat.
He
later
introduced
Styrofoam
floatation
to
the
boat
in
Canada,
and
had
one
of
his
new
16'
"unsinkable"
boats
brought
to
a
public
swimming
pool
in
Winnipeg,
where
he
had
three
men
lower
it
into
the
pool
and
defied
them
to
sink
it.
The
press
was
there
and
people
laughed
at
the
concept
of
a
metal
boat
that
would
float
when
capsized.
It
did.
Hidden
in
the
seating
compartments
was
the
new
"Styrofoam"
floatation.
The
boat
wouldn't
sink,
even
with
three
large
men
trying
to
push
it
down.
When
word
of
this
new
"unsinkable"
boat
hit
the
streets,
his
sales
doubled
almost
overnight!
Another Canadian first for Aroline.
Sireco II, At 42 feet is the largest Aroliner ever built
and now resides in Creighton, Saskatchewan, Canada
A 1950's Aroline "Deck Flag" showing
Early Logo
Did
you
know
that
the
original
spelling
of
Aluminum
was
actually
"Aluminium"?
The
"i"
was
dropped
at
some
point
in
North
America,
but
the
British
(and
for
that
matter
most
of
the
rest
of
the
world)
still
spell
it
with
the
extra "i"!!
The following 3 Decal Types are available
(Click anywhere to close window)
Click anywhere to close window
Original Steering Wheel Decal
Please send payment to:
Paul Fraser
Box 50
Clearwater Bay, On.
P0X 1S0
Canada
1.
2.
3.
14.5” x 2.75” Black and White (also in Black & Chrome)
$30 per pair (one for each side of the boat)
2.75” Round Decals (originally for steering wheel but can
be used on dashboard or anywhere)
$3 each or 2 for $5
Original Logo Coming Soon