- Joined
- Feb 23, 2004
- RO Number
- 12830
- Messages
- 674
Vivi and I went up to Balena bay for the Nordic Tug Fest. They had 32 and 37'er available to take out and cookies and sodas in the office. Despite the gray conditions,there was just a mild chop, not even as bad as in the summer afternoons.
The 32s interior appeared larger than I remember. It was hard to see the difference between the 32 and 37. Before, I was very strongly attracted to the 37, this time I wasn't sure the extra room was worth the double price.
We slipped lines and headed out. My over all impressions were that the tugs handle more flat underway than the trawler boats I've driven. The 37'er is 6000 heavier, didn't have much motion at all. Both boats turned sharply at speed with little leaning. I put the small waves to the side of the boats. The 32 moved a little occasionally. The 37'er didn't move once.
The 37 was significantly heavier feeling. The 380 hp Cummins was really working to get this boat up to speed. The Floscan showed about
3 miles to the gallon at an 8 knot cruise and about .8 miles to the gallon at 15 knots.
The broker (Dave) said he had brought the 37'er up from San Diego in Three days. He said the boat pushed against the oncoming seas quite well. He did keep the windshield wipers going to clear the spray. I got the impression that the 37'er would make a fine ocean passage boat.
The newer engines were very smooth, refined and quiet. I've heard that the Volvo smokes more. Sure enough, when we took the 32 out with the Volvo engine, I could pick up the most acrid diesel smell once and awhile. The Cummins was equally smooth and didn't smoke a bit. Very clean. Our local fishing legend "Rock Cod Rodney" told me once to "Never get a Volvo Diesel". He has lived around them long enough to know. He didn't like working on them. THe Volvo was in the 07 Tug. A used 06 boat had a Cummins with 100 hrs. I would jump on the 06 in an instant.
These new engines were very nice and quiet compared to the Albin with the single Lehman I looked at. The beat of the Lehman engine was like a bass drum in the cabin. It was no where near as smooth as the newer engines. I asked about bleeding the injectors. The broker said the new electronic injectors bleed themselves. mmmmm.
I asked about trucking the 32'er to Seattle. He said they trucked them down from the Seattle builder all the time for $2500. I thought this was pretty reasonable. He said it was cheaper to truck from California to the East Coast then Florida to Cal. More people were bringing boats out this way.
It was fun watching Dave use the bow thruster to move the tug around. He would just bump it on once and awhile. I was surprised to hear a nasty grinding noise each time. I thought electrics would be more quiet. Anyway, they did the job and he was able to spin the boat around and back in to the slip each time w/o
any sweat. Pretty cool.
The new Tugs were $275k for the 32 and $499k for the 37 (!) I looked on the web and found a good number of tugs for $165k to $195K. Even used ,it would be hard to justify this price. The advantages of the Tug over say the 37' Albin trawler would be the larger living area
,the newer engine, better wiring. an aft deck and lighter weight. The old Albin represents a good value at $ 85K or so. The Albin has a distinct front and aft bedroom with a smaller mid ships cabin/kitchen set up. The Albin includes the flybridge, which is extra on the Tug. A trawler this old would have to be surveyed very carefully.
In any case, I wouldn't buy one till I was ready to ship out. I think the best plan would
be to buy in the fall and plan on taking the boat down to the Sea of Cortez for the winter.
Well, we'll see what I can come up with in 5 years or so. I thanked Dave of Bellena Bay brokerage for demonstrating his Tugs. I learned quite a bit about the handling and performance of the newer hulls and engines today. Not affiliated with Ballena Bay yachts.
The 32s interior appeared larger than I remember. It was hard to see the difference between the 32 and 37. Before, I was very strongly attracted to the 37, this time I wasn't sure the extra room was worth the double price.
We slipped lines and headed out. My over all impressions were that the tugs handle more flat underway than the trawler boats I've driven. The 37'er is 6000 heavier, didn't have much motion at all. Both boats turned sharply at speed with little leaning. I put the small waves to the side of the boats. The 32 moved a little occasionally. The 37'er didn't move once.
The 37 was significantly heavier feeling. The 380 hp Cummins was really working to get this boat up to speed. The Floscan showed about
3 miles to the gallon at an 8 knot cruise and about .8 miles to the gallon at 15 knots.
The broker (Dave) said he had brought the 37'er up from San Diego in Three days. He said the boat pushed against the oncoming seas quite well. He did keep the windshield wipers going to clear the spray. I got the impression that the 37'er would make a fine ocean passage boat.
The newer engines were very smooth, refined and quiet. I've heard that the Volvo smokes more. Sure enough, when we took the 32 out with the Volvo engine, I could pick up the most acrid diesel smell once and awhile. The Cummins was equally smooth and didn't smoke a bit. Very clean. Our local fishing legend "Rock Cod Rodney" told me once to "Never get a Volvo Diesel". He has lived around them long enough to know. He didn't like working on them. THe Volvo was in the 07 Tug. A used 06 boat had a Cummins with 100 hrs. I would jump on the 06 in an instant.
These new engines were very nice and quiet compared to the Albin with the single Lehman I looked at. The beat of the Lehman engine was like a bass drum in the cabin. It was no where near as smooth as the newer engines. I asked about bleeding the injectors. The broker said the new electronic injectors bleed themselves. mmmmm.
I asked about trucking the 32'er to Seattle. He said they trucked them down from the Seattle builder all the time for $2500. I thought this was pretty reasonable. He said it was cheaper to truck from California to the East Coast then Florida to Cal. More people were bringing boats out this way.
It was fun watching Dave use the bow thruster to move the tug around. He would just bump it on once and awhile. I was surprised to hear a nasty grinding noise each time. I thought electrics would be more quiet. Anyway, they did the job and he was able to spin the boat around and back in to the slip each time w/o
any sweat. Pretty cool.
The new Tugs were $275k for the 32 and $499k for the 37 (!) I looked on the web and found a good number of tugs for $165k to $195K. Even used ,it would be hard to justify this price. The advantages of the Tug over say the 37' Albin trawler would be the larger living area
,the newer engine, better wiring. an aft deck and lighter weight. The old Albin represents a good value at $ 85K or so. The Albin has a distinct front and aft bedroom with a smaller mid ships cabin/kitchen set up. The Albin includes the flybridge, which is extra on the Tug. A trawler this old would have to be surveyed very carefully.
In any case, I wouldn't buy one till I was ready to ship out. I think the best plan would
be to buy in the fall and plan on taking the boat down to the Sea of Cortez for the winter.
Well, we'll see what I can come up with in 5 years or so. I thanked Dave of Bellena Bay brokerage for demonstrating his Tugs. I learned quite a bit about the handling and performance of the newer hulls and engines today. Not affiliated with Ballena Bay yachts.