To tug or not?

B

bshillam

Member
I am starting to research our next vessel. In our travels we ran into several tug owners, hull #2 of the Nordic 26 and a Sundowner oh - a Lord Nelsen.
In our list of must haves, a dinette large enough for four adults, a shower, a v-berth large enough to stand up in, and very important effencientcy. All of the tugs we met on our vacation achieved a cruising speed of about 7 knots and burned 1-1.5 gallons per hour. We'd also consider a sailing vessel, but I think a power is more our style at this point in our lives. Trailering would be nice but not the deal breaker.
From the spending side, I noticed the Sundowners could easily be had for under $80-85k while a Nordic in the size of a 32' would be substantially higher. All your comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
Just some photos to help some of us visualize your choices:

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Lord Nelson Victory Tug (37')

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Sundowner Pilothouse Trawler (36')

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Nordic Tug 26

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
We are coming down to a CD-22 from a Nordic Tug 37 and also owned a Nordic Tug 32 which we ran 12 months a year on Long Island Sound for many years. If you have Nordic Tug questions, feel free to PM or e-mail me as I know them well.

One thing to look at is the hull configuration. The Lord Nelson, for example, has round bilges and a greater tendancy to roll than a boat with a hard chine. That is not to say that a hard chine boat won't roll but it is not as much of an issue.

The only Nordic Tug that I have heard of owners towing themselves is the NT26. To tow that boat takes a pretty big truck (1 ton) and since the beam is 9ft 6in, you do have to take into account wide load issues although they are less of an issue out west.

Jim
 
Joe,

Thanks for researching and posting the various mfr model pictures. I'm not in the market for any other boat, but do appreciate seeing them to relate to the issues people are having.

So there, you ARE truly (and geniunely) appreciated no matter what you might think! :thup :beer :beer :beer
 
Has anyone had any personal experiences with the Sundowner? Why move from a Nordic to a CD22?
And I hadn't seen the Eagle 40, I guess one of the concerns is the economy of scale. At some point size wise we'll no longer feel like it's the boat for us. I might consider something along that size if it was as economical as the others.
 
I checked out that Eagle 40 what an impressive vessel! However in looking at the used market I'd say it's a bit more than we'd like to spend. I'm thinking somewhere between 70-90k would be just about what would fit the bill. Maybe a used tug in the 80' with lower hours would be a good pick. Anyhow - continue to bring on the suggestions and feedback. Economy is really important as we don't want to have to refi the home just to go on vacation. So a lower horse power diesel would be fine. 7-8 knots is plenty fast so a 300 horse power engine wouldn't be neccessary. I know some of the newer tugs are capable of going into the mid teens, but this also takes away from the economy factor. I'd be happy with size and economy. Enough room for four adults and maybe a few children. Again, thanks for all the suggestions.
 
I think a camino 31 would be another boat to look at the only drawback no sidedoors , but very nice for a couple . They are now being made up in bellingham .They used to be made near Vancouver BC .
 
The Grand Banks 32 is a good boat. A friend of mine had one for many years, and I was along on one short overnight cruise. I liked it. Drawbacks to me were that it seemed small for a 32, and it was a bit prone to rolling in quartering seas. This was 15 years ago, and I don't remember much else. I also have no idea how the boats are holding up now that they are 30 years old, but judging by the resale prices, I'd guess they do well.

Last year 6 sales were reported on soldboats.com. Two in the 70's, two in the 80's, and one for $53,500 and one for $115,000.

The specific one you linked has been on the market since 2005 at $115,000, and was reduced to the current price in June of this year. That looks an awful lot like an owner who is convinced he has the best GB 32 ever, but is incorrect about that.
 
That Eagle 32' looks like it might be a good choice too. I can really appreciate the lines on that boat. It looks like a lot a boat for the money and fit/finish look good too.
 
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