Changes at Nordic Tug

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Baker

Baker

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My wife just called and told me this. *Said it happened last week. *Now I have no clue what she meant by "out of business". *Guess I will get on the google and find out.
 
Nordic Tug announced some time ago a suspension of boat construction. I was under the impression that this was due to the soft market for their boats but I didn't get the impression (at the time) that they were actually going out of business. But maybe they have. The got into the "bigger is better" mode with larger boats, boats with flying bridges, etc. and sort of drifted away from their roots which was a well-built, simple little boat. They recently re-introduced the NT26 but I have no idea how it compared to the original. They also recently bought Ranger Tug which perhaps was a mistake.
 
Boat manufacturing is down all over.
Many expensive boat owners/buyers are folks that own businesses. The recent economic environment is "uncertain" and especially uncertain is what guvment might do to businesses retroactively. Therefore business owners are reluctant to commit their dollars as it might be needed to sustain the business.
Read here
http://tinyurl.com/32yxrzm


R,
 
Nordic Tug out of business????

The biggest difference in the new NT 26 is that it's way over powered. The original had a 3 cyl 36 hp Volvo. But I would think that if they had Ranger that should be a plus as they are quite popular * * *... are'nt they? To me the're too light and too flat on the bottom to be any good in the nasty but people DO like cute boats and they are all of that. I'll give them credit for one thing * ...however * ...that's where I got my idea for tan/buff color on my cabin sides.

PS * * * *I'm not intending to imply that 36 hp was right fot the N 26. It's so inefficient that
45 t0 55 hp would be more appropriate.


-- Edited by nomadwilly on Tuesday 12th of October 2010 11:59:12 AM
 
Here is the press release:


*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Andy Lund PHONE: (360) 7578847 ext 103 FAX: (360) 7578831 EMAIL: andylund@nordictugs.com
NORDIC TUGS ANNOUNCES TEMORARY PLANT CLOSURE <font size="3"><font size="3"></font>Burlington, Washington (August 25, 2010) </font><font size="3"></font>**### Nordic Tugs announced today it will temporarily close its Burlington manufacturing plant on August 31. This step has been forced by the ongoing effects of the Great Recession, and the reluctance of customers to order new boats. While most employees will be furloughed, a skeleton staff will remain to field customer inquiries and maintain the plant in readiness to resume production when business dictates. About Nordic Tugs Nordic Tugs manufactures hand crafted tug style yachts from 26 to 54 feet in its modern Burlington, Washington plant. The pioneer of the pleasure tug industry, Nordic Tugs has offered distinctive, high quality yachts built for cruising for the past 30 years. Nordic Tugs are sold through dealers in Europe, Asia and across America. For more information about Nordic Tugs, visit www.nordictugs.com <http://www.nordictugs.com/> .
 
nomadwilly wrote:

*But I would think that if they had Ranger that should be a plus as they are quite popular * * *... are'nt they?
Click to expand...
There is a brand new Ranger Tug for sale alongside the main dock we walk out to when we go to our boat.* The price on this thing--- for a 26 or 27 foot boat--- is staggering.* You could buy a not-that-old GB36 for what they want for a new Ranger Tug that's equipped so you can actually use it.

*
 
Nordic Tug out of business????

They are still answering the phones. As I understand it the CEO has left and a couple of groups are looking for investors to take it over.

-- Edited by Doc on Tuesday 12th of October 2010 02:06:21 PM
 
Nordic Tug out of business????

Doc wrote:They are still answering the phones. As I understand it the CEO has left and a couple of groups are looking for investors to take it over.
Click to expand...

Jim Cress, who was the CEO, was killed in a motorcycle accident in October of '08...which would put his death at just about the time the bottom dropped out of the economy.

From his obituary:

"Cress first joined Nordic Tugs in 1989 as sales manager. He left the company in 1993 to start SkipperCress Yacht Sales, Nordic Tugs' northwest dealer. Always passionate about Nordic Tugs, Cress and a small group of investors purchased the company in 1996 and he has served as the company's president/CEO for a majority of the past 12 years."
It appears the company has tried to hang on, but it does't look too promising.


-- Edited by HeadMistress on Tuesday 12th of October 2010 03:45:56 PM
 
I do not believe there is any corporate relationship between Ranger Tugs and Nordic Tugs.* The CEO of Ranger Tugs is John Livingston, son of David Livingston of Livingston dinghy (and numerous other boats) fame.* The confusion may be that Skipper Cress Yachts in Anacortes, WA represented both Nordic and Ranger Tugs as a dealer.**Jim Cress who founded and led Skipper Cress Yachts for years had become CEO of Nordic before his accidental motorcycle death in 2008.

Both Ranger and Nordic are/were manufactured in Washington state.* Since the August announcement of their "temporary closure" there has been virtually no info about reopening of the plant.
 
Nordic Tug out of business????

Doc wrote:

Andy Lund was the most recent CEO and he is gone.
Click to expand...
Andy was CEO of Grand Yachts Northwest in the late 90s, early 2000s.* They were the Grand Banks dealer for this area.* The dealership was taken away from them in the early 2000s and given to Passagemaker Yachts, and Andy left Grand Yachts Northwest.* It's assets were purchase by another fellow but the company didn't do all that well under him.* Eventually it was sold again to one of the charter boat owners, and under the name Northwest Explorations it is doing very well both in boat sales and GB charters.

And I believe the previous poster is correct in saying that Ranger Tugs and Nordic Tugs are not connected.* I had recalled the announcement that Skipper Cress was going to be the dealer or distributor for Ranger Tugs and assumed incorrectly that this meant Nordic Tugs had acquired Ranger Tugs.

*


-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 12th of October 2010 06:23:35 PM
 
With the world awash with low priced boats , the ability to command a high premium becomes difficult.

Especially selling an Oxymoronic boat.
 
Just got an email from NT factory saying that they have a 39 and a 49 under consturction now.
 
<h2 class="posttitle">Nordic Tugs to reopen factory in coming weeks</h2>Oct 25 2010 in Business of Boating by Deborah Bach
With four orders pending, Nordic Tugs plans to reopen its Burlington factory in the next month or so. Photo courtesy of Nordic Tugs


Almost two months after temporarily closing its factory, Nordic Tugs is tentatively planning to restart production in the next few weeks.

The company has orders pending for four boats and hopes to start production again within the next month, said Bob Shamek, Nordic Tugs vice president of sales and marketing. Two of the sales are expected to close shortly, he said, and then well get back to building boats.
The complete story is here:

http://threesheetsnw.com/blog/archives/13182
 
The factory is about a half mile from my house, and I pass it most mornings on my daily walk.

There have been 3-4 cars there most days since the shutdown, I believe handling customer and parts issues.

Nothing in the local paper about it today, but I'd be very happy to see a bunch more cars in their lot again!
 
Good news!!!
 
This summer when I was in Ketchican i noticed that the Tugs, many of them, were at the dock. I asked why - too few renters that far north. NTs are a very expensive vessel, new and used. The used boat market has significant*inventory of fairly new NTs in the PNW.
 
They're not exactly bustling yet, but they seem to be up to about 7 cars in the parking lot most mornings now.* So I guess that's about 350% better than a month or so ago.* Perhaps after the first of the year they'll be picking up?
 
I'll be down there today.
I'll look for activity.

Looks like the "convertable" go slow go fast sales pitch is alive and .. well everybody wants to hear what they want to hear. The NT does do better at that than most all others. They are narrower and have some rocker .. and less weight. However efficiency usually isn't high on the want list for people that can afford a new Nordic Tug. If I was to part w my Willard I'd be looking for a small NT.
 
Hi, I totally agree with you, the Volvo was not a good move. I think if you buy a new NT, you get to choose from Cummins, if not they shoot itself in the foot.


The customer is always right ...&#55357;&#56842;
 
We looked hard at both Nordic Tugs and obviously American Tug.
The Volvo would have been a huge no go for me. I have no idea what the back story is about Nordic Tugs and Volvo, I asked but they never said. I do believe that you can now order the boat with a Cummins.
As we wanted a boat that was no larger than 40' the new Nordic Tug 40 was something we wanted to see. In the end, we decided that we preferred the older 37/39 model's styling better. I am not fond of the rear side windows or the sacrifices made to the interior space the new model makes.
Obviously, people seem to like it.
Bruce
 

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Volvo versus Cummins. One of the local builders primarily uses Volvo-Penta Cummins, Yanmar and Cat diesels. This summer they had a Cummins blow up during sea trials on a boat. I understand it was the second time this has happened. They have not had that problem with other engine brands according to the people I know.

Disclosure - I have a 2011 Volvo-Penta diesel in my boat and have had no problems at all.
 
Last edited:
TDunn said:
Volvo versus Cummins. One of the local builders primarily uses Volvo-Penta Cummins, Yanmar and Cat diesels. This summer they had a Cummins blow up during sea trials on a boat. I understand it was the second time this has happened. They have not had that problem with other engine brands according to the people I know.

Disclosure - I have a 2011 Volvo-Penta diesel in my boat and have had no problems at all.
Click to expand...

I've seen the exact opposite, interesting!
Speaking to the people at Tomco/American Tug they have had numerous faulty Volvo engines and one Cummins that was "not right".
I'm sure that every manufacturer gets it wrong once in a while, I also sure that I don't want to be the one who draws that short straw.
That is the beauty of the system, if you don't like the choices given you go somewhere else to spend your money!
Bruce
 
Probably most of the time people that buy new boats feel a new engine w a highly respected reputation is not going to have problems. But now it's gotten to be such a wide spread bit on "knowledge" that Volvo parts are rediclously expensive that it's felt that a guy w a Volvo is not very street smart re boats. Nobody wants to look dumb so even new boat buyers are shying away from the brand. People want to be seen w a boat that brings them respect. But a new boat purchase is probably quite safe as parts will probably not be needed. However this will not reduce the number of Volvo engines comming into the fleet so someone's going to have to deal w the high parts problem. It's the guy down the road w a 30 year old boat and not enough money to be able to afford those expensive Volvo parts that will actually have a problem.
 
You know, Volvo must know of this problem they have of perception of their product. I guess it hasn't bitten them hard enough for them to change it. I know some folks who have newer Volvos and are happy with them but they don't put huge hours on them to not have to work on them much. Like someone said, down the line is where it bites people. I guess most people who buy new boats don't keep them long and pass the problem on.

Kevin
 
Volvolla is a few model of good and strong designs. Earlier boat had 2 x kad44 supercharged engines. Work flawlessly, but maintenance work difficult vs qsb cummins. For example, every 200 hours valve adjustment. Need to take off the oil filter to the foot, all fuel pipes, that allows you to adjust the valves (24), there's a not fine line.


Professional maintenance man to spend a long day engine rooms for about 10 hours with 2 hours of adjust the valves. In addition, it is a lot of money.


I feel that I am lucky, when I managed to acquire one of the few Nordic Tug boat which has been imported to Europe.
 
After cruising the East Coast/Caribbean for three years on my PDQ 34 I sold it and have come back home to the Left Coast. I've been looking for a NT 32 for several months and have to admit a Volvo engine eliminated a few possibilities. Yes, it's a bias, and I know some people who are pleased with their Volvo engines, but I have to feel comfortable with my choice, even if there's a bit of irrationality involved. Part of that irrationality is my history with 3 Volvo cars in the past. I kept wanting them to hold up to their reputation, but all three cars ended up being problems.

So this week I bought a 2010 NT 32 with a Cummins engine...
 
dvd said:
After cruising the East Coast/Caribbean for three years on my PDQ 34 I sold it and have come back home to the Left Coast. I've been looking for a NT 32 for several months and have to admit a Volvo engine eliminated a few possibilities. Yes, it's a bias, and I know some people who are pleased with their Volvo engines, but I have to feel comfortable with my choice, even if there's a bit of irrationality involved. Part of that irrationality is my history with 3 Volvo cars in the past. I kept wanting them to hold up to their reputation, but all three cars ended up being problems.

So this week I bought a 2010 NT 32 with a Cummins engine...
Click to expand...

Hey!
Congratulations on a very cool boat with a great engine!!!
I like the 32' NT. Enjoy your new boat.
Bruce
 
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