Realistic top cruising speed for Nordic 42 ?

Hi-

My wife and I are contemplating purchase of a 2000 Nordic Tug 42 with a 635 HP Cummins QSM11 with 1500 hours.

I am looking to purchase a semi-displacment hull vessel that can cruise all day at 14 knots. Is this realistic? Or not with this setup....

This would be our first NT and diesel setup.

Thanks,

Mike

No, not even close. Maybe one knot over hull length speed. My guess is it is a 9 knot boat, maybe 10 WOT. Maybe a lot less. Would need to know hp to give a better answer.

Example. 54’ twin screw trawler hull with 750hp cruises at 10 knots at 1800 rpms and maxes out at 13kts at 2600 rpms.

Planning hulls and simi planning hulls are different.

I don’t believe Nordic tug makes a semi planning hull. It’s possible that I am incorrect but I don’t believe I am. Maybe a Nordic owner can verify.

Hi-

For some reason this tug has the larger 635 HP Cummins.

I thought NT was a semi displacment hull.

Thanks,

Mike

NT is SD relatively light and will easily exceed Hull speed and should cruise at 14K and top out 16K+. Go directly to NT web sites to get your information. Social media is a tricky place to troll for facts. There is a lot of useful information on these sites but filtration may always be necessary. You never know when the Russkys will take notice of TF. Why do you think NT would have put 650 horses in the boat? 80 HP would get a FD hull speed.

Delivered one from Chicago to the Hudson a couple of years ago. It will do 14kts. but is loud with excessive squatting. It's a 10 knot boat.

NT's are semi-displacement hulls. They will go quite a bit above hull speed, but at considerable cost in fuel. Don't know about the 42's max, but my 2002 NT37 with 330 hp Cummins hits 16 knots wide open. Friends say their 37 can go 12 knots all day, but I don't do that, more like 7-7.5 normal cruise, and max 9-10 (when I have a good reason to be in a hurry and am willing to burn much more fuel).

Friends with a 42 generally travel at 8-8.5 knots.

Ok..thanks everyone. I appreciate the quick responses.

Boatpoker- by squatting you mean excessive bow rise? That is what I noticed as well. No trim tabs on this tug...

Maybe I will just have to slow down a little..... That is what my wife keeps telling me..

As I said hp is part of the equation. Second factory numbers are derived from bare boats with low fuel loads. Third, while a light boat might achieve 14 kts,at what fuel cost. Finally, I cruise at 10 kts, never been passed by a Nordic tug of any size so I find some of these claims of cruising speed questionable. I see Ranger Tugs traveling around at 12 to 18 knots but we are now talking about sub 30’ foot planning hulls.

Almost all SD-boats of this type are happier at or just below hull speed. The NT 42 would fall into the 8K range in that department. The thing about SD is if you put some serious HP aboard you can easily attain the mid teens at the price of fuel and more engine noise. Your choice as to what speed you want to travel at. With FD your choice only works up to hull speed. Almost all heavy fast boats have to burn serious fuel. High speed=high fuel burn. The only bypass to that rule is light narrow and very long not usually a very good trawler type. I boat where there is some serious current and rapids issues and I find it comforting and very practical to turn up the speed on occasion it is my reserve.

Like many here I own a SD boat.

When you take a SD boat, and give it the throttle, it will typically be riding with the bow fairly high, and the aft pushed into the water, or “squatting”. Trim tabs are employed to lift the aft and push the nose down.

This is really good in a beam sea as it tends to really reduce the roll.

14 knots sounds very realistic to me in a 42’ boat with 600 horsepower. I have a 47’ hull length and twin 330 Cummins diesels and can make 14 knots at a reasonable cruise RPM setting of -300 from rated WOT.

Most people (here at least), and myself included cruise their SD boats at hull speed the vast majority of the time.

The boats just feel more at peace at hull speed. They feel a bit out of sorts at a fast cruise.

If my life dictated, or my preferances were to cruise at faster than hull speed most of the time I would opt for something made for that kind of thing. Something like a big sport fish comes to mind.

The standard engine is 450 hp and wot will give you 17 knots. 14 knt cruise is easy if the fuel consumption is easy for you. The 650 hp option will give you higher speeds and higher fuel consumption. You might even get better fuel economy at a higher speed than 14 with the big engine. Requires some paperwork to calculate your nautical miles per gallon. I'm pretty sure that package will have fuel usage metering. Most people will tell you gallons per hour but I find that almost useless so calculate nautical miles per gallon by graphing data.

Even if the NT42 can cruise at 14 knots for extended periods (and with that engine I have no doubt it could) it would not be a pleasant experience. The NT42 is a very nice boat. However, in my mind it is a boat that is designed to enjoy the journey, not hurry up and get there.

14 knots will be just plain loud with the bow clawing towards the sky and a wake that will make surfers envious.

I've heard they can hit the upper 60's to low 70's, but I think that's pushing it just a bit.




Sorry, couldn't resist.

At 14 knots your wake will make you the life of the party. My Nordic will almost make 12 knots WOT with 420hp. I once turned into my own wake. That's why I don't go over 10 knots in proximity to other boats and normally cruise at 7 knots.

Tom

Travelled with a Nordic Tug 42 in 2016, Cape Caution northbound, Dixon Entrance southbound, and several shorter days together. Theirs was somewhere Above 400hp. We both travelled at 8+ knots on those longer days. That is their normal cruise speed.

mvp said:

Hi-

My wife and I are contemplating purchase of a 2000 Nordic Tug 42 with a 635 HP Cummins QSM11 with 1500 hours.

I am looking to purchase a semi-displacment hull vessel that can cruise all day at 14 knots. Is this realistic? Or not with this setup....

This would be our first NT and diesel setup.

Thanks,

Mike

Click to expand...

Hi, I do not know what the NT-42 is the fastest speed. My NT37 is 18.5 kn 3050 rmp cummins qsb 380hp. The cruising speed can be kept at 14-15kn. When I bought my boat from Germany on time in its three days home about 600nm middle speed at 15kn 2600-2700 rpm Cummins qsb 380hp.3 fuel refueling and time 12-16 hours day trips. Normally for a period of 7 kn since the fuel here is paying for shock.


Fuel consuption (smart craft wiev) 7kn 5nm / us gal and 15kn 1,15 nm/gal and full trooth 18,5kn 1nm/gal


NT 42 has been at the time the standard machine for 450hp cummins and watching for 635hp so I do not doubt this speed. See the review http://www.boats.com/reviews/sea-trial-nordic-tug-42/#.WdMr1ZVrzIU


NBs

dhays said:

Even if the NT42 can cruise at 14 knots for extended periods (and with that engine I have no doubt it could) it would not be a pleasant experience. The NT42 is a very nice boat. However, in my mind it is a boat that is designed to enjoy the journey, not hurry up and get there.

14 knots will be just plain loud with the bow clawing towards the sky and a wake that will make surfers envious.

Click to expand...

Hi Dave,

Not in NT boats the bow does not aim at the heights at any speed, thanks to Lynn Senour's hull design for NT boats. Look this NT42 video https://video.search.yahoo.com/vide...h&age=1222944114&fr2=p:s,v:v&b=61&fr=sfp&tt=b

NBs

Lets assume this NT 42 tops out at 15 knots and can cruise at 12 knots at an 80% load on its 635 hp engine. Approx 480 hp used. At 20 hp per gph for a modern turbocharged, after cooled diesel, that calculates to 24 gph at 12 knots or 0.5 mpg. Not for me but not horrible either.

"Maybe I will just have to slow down a little..... That is what my wife keeps telling me.."

It will be much quieter on board with an engine 1/10 the size , and the fuel bill will be lots better too.

mvp said:

Hi-

My wife and I are contemplating purchase of a 2000 Nordic Tug 42 with a 635 HP Cummins QSM11 with 1500 hours.

I am looking to purchase a semi-displacment hull vessel that can cruise all day at 14 knots. Is this realistic? Or not with this setup....

This would be our first NT and diesel setup.

Thanks,

Mike

Click to expand...

Looks like it will do 17 knots with 450 hp so your goal should be fine......
Nordic Tug 42: Sea Trial - boats.com

QSM11 question

Thanks everyone for the quick responses to potential cruising speed.

I plan on having an engine survey completed on the Cummins QSM11 but would like to know from those that have this powerplant what are some possible issues at 1500 hours we may be facing?

I am trying to get maintenance records for the engine.

I really do not want to do a re-power early after purchase.

Thanks,

M.

The NT 42 is a great vessel with two large staterooms and separate shower/heads. These boats are made so very strong. As I investigated all the nooks and crannies, and all the on board systems of our new to me 2002 37’ I was pleasantly surprised without ever being disappointed. The holding tank is in the keel so the boat never stinks.
Now here’s the thing. At 1200-1400 RPM you can sip fuel all day long. Once above 1500 you can begin to kiss fuel economy good bye. We travel up the east coast from Florida to New England each summer for five months. Both the engine and generator/AC are running most days. We spend less than $3,500.00 for fuel during the five months of traveling. Run your boat at 14 knots and that number will be closer to $10,000.00.
Nothing wrong with 7.5 Knots.

mvp said:

Thanks everyone for the quick responses to potential cruising speed.

I plan on having an engine survey completed on the Cummins QSM11 but would like to know from those that have this powerplant what are some possible issues at 1500 hours we may be facing?

I am trying to get maintenance records for the engine.

I really do not want to do a re-power early after purchase.

Thanks,

M.

Click to expand...

Insure the after cooler has been properly serviced and pressure tested by a Cummins tech in the past two years. Or consider having this and all other service done as a pre-condition to sale. It is not about hours, it is about time and marine age. You may want to review this engine on boatdiesel archives.

A. The builder will sea trial a boat with next to nothing onboard. 1/2 fuel maybe 1/2 water and one or two folks onboard
B. IF you have a builder's fuel consumption vs RPMs, take it with a grain of salt, but it is a starting point.
C. Take the builder's graph and create your own graph based upon your real life experience. We do have a tendency to load up a "our" boat.
D. We have to make a decision, fuel or distance. Are we racing a tide or darkness? The next fueling station?
E. Want to go fast? Buy a bass boat or a big RIB and load it up with outboards.

42', 880hp total, semi displacement & 18 knots all day with no problem!
Speed is towards the end of the video. (Sister ship)

MVP: 1500 hours is not too much for a properly maintained engine, you're smart to get an engine survey. Ask for the maintenance logbooks, and during the survey they will send out oil samples for analysis; these are very helpful. We have a Cummins QSC so I can't speak directly about a QSM, though I think Cummins makes some great products.
NTs are great boats and we went out in a 42 last year, they are sister ships to American tug. they were in our top 2 or 3 when we were shopping but ultimately went with an AT that became available in great shape. We too have high hp and from personal experience, we really appreciate being able to push speed to the high teens once in a great while but we also mostly go about 8 kts and sip about 3GPH. When at 8 kts, our engine is very low noise and smooth.
If you haven't yet been on a sea trial; this is a great experience and time to get a feel for that boat; the surveyor should even let you take the wheel for a moment and he will try to take the boat to WOT. When on the sea trial, be sure to walk around and spend a little time not only in pilot house but also saloon.
iPhone and likely others have a free APP to measure peak noise levels, i've used this during sea trials to compare noise on different boats. Of course, if the surveyor has an engine room hatch open, the noise measurement won't be realistic
One other thing on NTs: some had a minor separation at the seam where the back of the pilot house meets the upper deck of the saloon roof; ask the surveyor about this but he will be checking moisture anyway. Even if it has this issue I believe it is a minor thing to seal/repair.
Best of luck to you and please let us know how it goes... and of course everyone on this forum loves to see boat pics!

GFC said:

I've heard they can hit the upper 60's to low 70's, but I think that's pushing it just a bit.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Click to expand...

Putting a boat of that size on the six small pads of that hydraulic trailer is a recipe for unseen structural damage to the hull skin!

mvp said:

Thanks everyone for the quick responses to potential cruising speed.



I plan on having an engine survey completed on the Cummins QSM11 but would like to know from those that have this powerplant what are some possible issues at 1500 hours we may be facing?



I am trying to get maintenance records for the engine.



I really do not want to do a re-power early after purchase.



Thanks,



M.

Click to expand...

You will want to replace the raw water pump.
Check the “Play” in the turbo probably replace.
The three wiper blade linkages will be rusted up and very difficult for the electric motors to move. They need to be replaced ($600) if you do it yourself.
You will need to reseal all of the upper deck handrail supports.
We had a leaking lift muffler fitting. Turned out it wasn’t the hose it was a cracked fiberglass flange. That was $1,800.00.
Remove 14 years of bottom paint and repaint. $7k
Ours is a 2002 37’ we bought in 2014.

Like my Father In Law, Murray Millhouse, an automotive engineer used to say: "When you want to get something moving, there is nothing that enough money and horsepower can not solve" Money= diesel fuel

Totally agree, about 80 hp will move this boat at hull speed. The calculations are easy to do.