Nordic Tug 37

[steved59]

Further to my recent post on the 'Welcome Mat', tomorrow is the day i'm having a sea trial on a NT37.

This is the boat in question:

2007 Nordic Tugs 37 Flybridge Power New and Used Boats for Sale listing#.WuGNKrpFyUk

The price agreed is quite a bit lower than that mentioned in the advert, the problem is that there are no other NT37's for sale in the UK / Europe to compare with, so any thoughts on pricing / how the boat is specced would be appreciated.

I'll run the boat at WOT for half an hour or so, what should the engine temperature should be reading? I'm expecting 16-17 knots depending on how dirty her bum is.

Any other comments on the pro's or cons on this boat.

Thanks all

Steve

[sunchaser]

Steve

WOT for 30 minutes seems excessive. If I were a seller that would be a show stopper. A WOT throttle test is to check a few things, first can the vessel do it with current props and secondly without overheating. WOT for 5 to 7 minutes will provide that information. Also, be sure the after cooler has been properly serviced in the past 2 or 3 years.

On the engine listed there is considerable information on boatdiesel.com. There are several NT 37 owners on TF, you'll get some good feedback.

[Waterford]

I agree with Sunchaser and suggest you run at 80% for about 10 minutes and watch temp, listen to engine and feel for bad vibes. Further, I'd do an analysis of the engine and tranny oils.

As a Nordic Tug owner, I doubt that you will see 16-17 knots. These boats were made to cruise slow and we find a sweet spot at about 7.5k on ours. Pushing to 10+ is possible but throws a huge wake and isn't fun inside. DOn't be mislead by the stated max speed; it is designed to be a slow boat.

It is beautifully equiped and kept. Have fun!

[Mragan]

Steve,

I do agree that these boats are best suited for slow speeds. We cruise @ 8.5 knots, any more than that and she does start to plow. During our sea trial we saw 15.5 knots, clean bottom, full fuel tanks, 5 people on board, very little gear on board and water tank 1/4 full.

We monitored engine temp prior too, during and especially after our WOT run. Engine temp only varied approx. 5 degrees.

Beautiful boat by the way! We love ours!

Good luck with the sea trial!

Mike

[Shrew]

I would suggest hiring a Marine Surveyor. I'd hire a seperate diesel mechanic to survery the engine(s) and generator.

[Retriever]

My NT37 is older than the one you're looking at and powered by the mechanical Cummins 330hp 6BTA. Comfortable, efficient cruise is at about 1300 RPM making 7.8 knots and burning about 2.2 gph. Faster cruise (and a lot more comfortable in rolly conditions) is 1800 RPM making 9.5 knots and burning somewhere around 5 gph. Fastest cruise is 2400 RPM, 11.5-12 knots, I figure 10 gph. WOT is 15-16 knots, 2800 rpm, about 17 gph. These are real world, with the boat loaded pretty heavily for multi-month cruising.

I like the boat. It's efficient, easy to run, easy to take care of, tough, and comfortable.

[seasalt007]

Originally Posted by steved59

I'll run the boat at WOT for half an hour or so,

Steve

I would do what your engine surveyor says to do because the seller should not object. I have never heard of anyone asking for a half hour at WOT. I would not do it and would walk from the deal.

If you intend to ask for that you should have it in writing as an additional condition of the sale before you spend any money hiring surveyors.

[High Wire]

The surveyor and whoever is driving the boat should have a prearranged abort temperature. On Irish Lady survey we ran around at 2000 for a while then WOT for about 5 min to do some checks. Also make sure the bottom is clean before sea trial.

[South of Heaven]

30 minutes!!? If there weren't engine problems before, then there will be after! Lol

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by South of Heaven

30 minutes!!? If there weren't engine problems before, then there will be after! Lol

Was thinking the same thng

[Shrew]

You'll be able to tell if you're over-propped, under-propped, getting vibrations or overheating within the first 5 minutes of running at WOT.

[firehoser75]

Hi Steve,
My reply may be too late, but just saw your post. I own a 2002 NT 37 here in the PNW of Canada. Bought her in late 2016 for about what your seller is asking. Based on prices around this area, that is a very good price, especially if you negotiated lower. The boat looks to be well kept and is well equipped for cruising.
Definitely have the boat surveyed (including mechanical) unless you are very well versed in ALL the areas of build quality, damage, maintenance, and diesel engines.
I agree with the others, there is no need to run at WOT for 30 minutes, and if I were the seller , I would not allow it. Definitely run at WOT after a good warm up, for about 5 minutes, 10 at most. Engine temps should be about 180-190 degrees F if the cooling system is working well. Hopefully the owner has service records so you can see when everything was maintained. These records are important, otherwise you are starting out blind and will have to establish your own baselines which can result in servicing things that may not need it yet. These boats are mostly cruised at between 7-9 knots which provides for relatively good fuel economy and a comfortable ride.
Check out Tony Athen's website (sbmar.com) for great information on Cummins engines (and all things mechanical). He can be a bit "gruff", but he is very knowledgeable and is willing to provide info for free on his forums as well as his numerous articles.
Also, just saying, but even though the boat looks in really good shape, plan for a fairly large budget for upgrades, changes, repairs and maintenance, especially if you can't do a lot of it yourself. Ours had been "well maintained", and appeared to be in very good condition, but we have spent about 17,000 Pounds so far, and I do quite a bit myself, with more to come.
They are great boats!
Good luck,
Tom

[Dave_E]

Good luck.

[Flatswing]

A good buyers broker can show you the sold boat data for the last couple of years for that model which should give you a good comfort level. Definitely get a knowledgeable mechanic on board for the sea trial. As a counter point to other posts, if the seller wouldn't permit WOT for 30 minutes (obviously abort if predetermined max temp reached) I wouldn't even bother with a survey/sea trial. But then I regularly have run my diesels to WOT for at least 5-10 minutes daily-preferably just after I leave port or before arriving in case issues arise. Sometimes conditions arise en route where you may need to run hard for safety, you need to be confident that you can.

[Woodland Hills]

On our recent survey, I asked my engine surveyor how long he was going to run the engines at WOT and he replied: "Until the engines or the owner overheats, whichever comes first!" in this case, we ran them at WOT for nearly 10 minutes and neither one got hot....

[Pgitug]

We purchased our 2002 37 two years ago. Here is what to look for:
If there is rust on the outside of each windshield wiper add $600 for new linkage.
If your main engine raw water pump has rust at the bearing vent holes add $1200 for new pump.
If you have any seepage around the 6” exhaust hose into or out of the lift muffler add $2000 for fixing a cracked fiberglass manifold.
Put a hose on the top of each of the five pilot house windows, if you See dampness on the inside bottom of the window add $$$’s to remove the window and reseal the flange.
Figure on removing the second deck hand rail and resealing with butyl tape.
Test the batteries, if five years old they are ready to be replaced.
Make sure each of the two pilot house door locks function.
The Nordic Tugs are so well made you are really going to enjoy your purchase.

[steved59]

Thanks for all your reply's.

I personally do not see any major problems in running an engine under load hard for continuous periods, I agree that any undue vibrations would be apparent within a few minutes.

I do agree with you all that the boat is much more pleasant to use cruising at 7/8 knots, which is my intention.

The boat has been in the water for the last 5 months, so the bottom would have been relatively clean due to low winter water temperatures.

The sea trial showed the following:

At 2950 rpm: 16 knots / 82C / 75 litres/hour / 43 psi
At 1250 rpm: 6/7 knots / 73C / 6.2 litres/hour / 49.5 psi

There was some corrosion on the engine mount below the raw water pump, which would suggest that there had been a leak at some point, although no leak was evident. The fuel gauges on the electronic display were not working, nor was the fresh water level gauge.

I'm waiting see the full engine service records.

There is some slight 'bubbling' of the paint on the sliding wheel house doors.

Other than this all seemed well.

Steve

[Pgitug]

The tank gauges may still be using these sensors that are about $200 each.
http://www.centroidproducts.com/3wire.htm

[steved59]

Hi all.

The deal is now done on the NT 37, and I should become the new owner in a couple of weeks.

She is currently lying about 180nm from my marina, and plan a leisurely cruise over a few days to bring her home.

I'll try and post a few pics of the voyage whilst transiting the English Channel, and through the Thames Estuary, and onwards to the River Orwell.

Once again thanks to all for their comments.

Steve

[dhays]

Originally Posted by steved59

Hi all.



The deal is now done on the NT 37, and I should become the new owner in a couple of weeks.



She is currently lying about 180nm from my marina, and plan a leisurely cruise over a few days to bring her home.



I'll try and post a few pics of the voyage whilst transiting the English Channel, and through the Thames Estuary, and onwards to the River Orwell.



Once again thanks to all for their comments.



Steve

Congratulations Steve. I think you will really enjoy it.