Nordic Tugs Yachts for Sale

Jerry Husted and the naval architect Lynn Senour started Nordic Tugs in 1979. Senour took the look of a 1930s working tug and put it on a semi displacement hull that balanced speed against fuel burn, which was exactly the question owners were asking in the second fuel crisis. The 26 came first, the 32 in 1985, the 37 and 42 in the middle and late 1990s, a 52 in 2003 that became the 54, and the 49 in 2009. The plant moved from Woodinville to Burlington, Washington in 1990 and the company now builds six models from 26 to 54 feet there.

Almost every Nordic Tug is a single engine boat built for one couple to run a long way slowly, and the numbers are the reason people buy them second hand: the 34 carries 205 gallons and is rated at about 600 nautical miles at 8 knots, the 44 at about 1,900 and the 54 at about 2,600. The brokerage fleet now spans more than four decades of a hull shape that has barely changed, so a well kept older 32 does the same job as a newer boat for much less money. They suit Inside Passage, Great Loop and ICW cruising rather than weekending. With one engine there is no second chance, so the survey should center on engine hours and service history, the shaft and running gear, and the age of the electronics and the generator.