Hello Jim,
Ben's suggestion is typically what I would suggest as well, but I understand you have a situation that is unique to companies that sell parts to items like boats, vehicles, appliances, etcetera... in which case a single product page with variables won't work because you're dealing with completely different skus / part numbers.
In this case I like your idea of creating a single landing page and then using the rel canonical tag on the others. This way the other pages are still available to users who need a specific product part number, but search engines can see that these are all URL-variations of the same content.
Another, similar option would be to use variables in the URL and instruct Google and Bing to ignore those variables and treat them as if they were the base URL. Example:
And this would be the canonical / base URL:
www.savvyboater.com/store/p/Cover-for-V-Hull-Fishing-Boat-with-Side-Console-O-B-17-X-92-.aspx
That may be a problem from the development side because your standard URL includes the product's unique identifier at the beginning, as in:
http://www.savvyboater.com/store/p/2100-Cover-for-V-Hull-Fishing-Boat-with-Side-Console-O-B-14-X-74-.aspx
An example of a problem that could arise is if you decide to just choose one product to be the main one, as in:
http://www.savvyboater.com/store/p/2100-Cover-for-V-Hull-Fishing-Boat-with-Side-Console-O-B-14-X-74-.aspx**?variant=72217P**
http://www.savvyboater.com/store/p/2100-Cover-for-V-Hull-Fishing-Boat-with-Side-Console-O-B-14-X-74-.aspx**?variant=**72216P
But then what happens if 2100 goes out of stock or is removed? Would every other model then be inaccessible at that URL?
I'd have to know more about this before helping with that issue, but it may not be a problem at all. You'll have to discuss options with your developers and go from there.
Good luck!