I really do love this boat. Even found the owner and sent him an email with some of his boat pictures for him to enjoy. The people at Tuggers want to put the picture on their newsletter, and the owner gave the OK.

BTW, the owner liked the pix, sent me a nice email back.



What do you think of it like this???

Seabuddy's other thread got me experimenting with some photo effects.

I don't get the whole refurbished tugboat as a pleasure boat thing. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful boat but wouldn't a cruiser be more comfortable and more efficient? That tug must burn a ton of fuel to go maybe 8 knots? Let a tug be a tug I say.

Is there anything FLAT on that boat? If it was mine, I'd probably name it WARPED ...

Andy, they are not refurbs. They were designed from the start as pleasure craft.

I don't know, they trigger something in me that gives me warm fuzzies.

You can see the history of all 76 hulls here.

There's alot to be said for the design. Get her in really rough weather and you will apreciate the high bow and low CG.

Actually from what I have read of people doing hte Great Loop cruise, a diesel powered tug is the most efficient way to do it. People are getting like 8mpg at 8kts. A planing hull cruiser would be lucky to get 1.5 at 25mph.
Now if you mean a displacement hull boat when you said "cruiser". well, then yyeah, their efficiency might be similiar, but I doubt better. After that, it's a personal preference thing. I do not like tugs, by the way.

Tugs are houseboats designed for bad water

A gent that has a Nordic Tug 26 here told me he burns 1 gal/hr with his at about 8 kts, if that helps. 60hp-ish diesel, I think.

But yeah, they sure are a matter of personal preference. I personally like them. A person spends their whole life going from A-B as fast and as hard as they can. Some day it might be nice to slow down and take my time.

I was chit-chatting with a looper in a small tug a few weeks ago, and I asked him something about going slow and relaxing. He held up both arms and said "You see any watch on these arms? Hell, I don't even know what day of the week it is!"

That's kind of what I'm talking about.

That means he's getting almost 10 mpg. Thanks 2Suns. I'm sure I've seen the exact boat you are speaking of, many times.

Can't say I'm eager to buy one, but the lines of that boat do make me smile. I like the dutch door at the pilot house, nice touch.

The 18"+ diameter smoke stack with the 1.5" diameter exhaust pipe poking out of it is funny. Being a "form follows function" guy, that bothers me a little, the same way a radar arch without radar on it seems pointless to me.

I like the looks of it. Kind of like a illustration for a pre-schooler book. There are some trawler designs I like very much. Tend to be more angular. I would like to see the layout of the cabins and such in the above boat.

If I were to retire onto a boat with the idea of traveling and living on the boat I would seriously look at this design. I understand they take rough water well and are fuel efficient.

I too would throw away the wrist watch.

I guess I have Georgia on my mind.

Troop, you sure picked a beautiful boat to fall in love with. I can see why the owner would enjoy the pics you sent him. That one is really nice. Great colors, very clear, sun's coming from the right angle to highlight the boat. Nicely done.

While I don't see myself ever owning a tug I can appreciate their lines and how seaworthy they are. In that pic he's running right at his hull speed (you can tell by the bow and stern waves) and it's very efficient at that speed. 8mpg or more would not surprise me.

Now, let's all join hands and sing..."Little Toot was just a tug..."

Nice touch Troop - very generous. I'm sure the owner got a real kick out of it.

I too, like tugs. Don't care a whit about the technicalities, I just think they're cool. I spent a half-hour on the Tugger web site looking at all their hulls.

troop, are you getting published now?

troop - not my cup of tea (and pudding), but i know others like it. i met a guy last winter who had his boat next to mine at the marina for winter storage. he's got a 1976 tug of some kind that looks brand new. he was working on it himself, which i was impressed with since he's 83 (or maybe now 84) years young. he was telling me about how he acquired and rigged an authentic steam whistle for the boat from an old factory. btw, you know the duck in the picture is carrying a concealed video camera, right?