New (sort of) Nordic Tug Owner in So Cal

dwilkieo · 12-26-2018, 01:50 PM

Howdy List.

After spending much of my adult life on a sailboat, I have bought a Nordic Tug 32. I have owned it for 2 years now and it has been a bit of a learning curve, but I am really loving the boat, and best of all, so does my wife.

I have done some modifications to make it more personalized and to upgrade some of the factory options that the boat did not come with originally. I have done some more radical things too, like softening the very hard chines where they hit the waterline to prevent wave slap in harbor. More like wave BOOM, which makes it pretty tough to get a good night's sleep when conditions are less then perfect in my favorite Channel Islands harbors.

I am contemplating replacing the carpet in my boat with Amtico.

My home port is Santa Barbara, and I like to cruise Santa Cruz Island and an annual trip or two to Catalina. Thanks for having me.

MurrayM · 12-26-2018, 02:11 PM

Welcome aboard from up-coast a bit

LaBomba · 12-26-2018, 04:22 PM

Welcome from the Great Lakes.

Comodave · 12-26-2018, 05:02 PM

Welcome aboard.

swampyankee · 12-26-2018, 06:45 PM

Welcome from a fellow noob.

I'd like to know what you did to soften the chines forward. We experienced that chine slap at anchor on our Silverton 31. Kept us up all night and gives us second thoughts about anchoring out.

Capitaine R · 12-26-2018, 07:47 PM

Welcome aboard from Florida and from one new Nordic Tug owner to another.

**Bacchus** · 12-26-2018, 08:13 PM

Welcome aboard TF

Tootles · 12-26-2018, 09:45 PM

Welcome from an owner of a 26 which we love

dwilkieo · 12-27-2018, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampyankee

Welcome from a fellow noob.

I'd like to know what you did to soften the chines forward. We experienced that chine slap at anchor on our Silverton 31. Kept us up all night and gives us second thoughts about anchoring out.

I think in pristine, well protected harbors, this can be a non-problem. But in SoCal harbors, especially Santa Cruz Island, where crowding dictates that you drop a second hook to allow more boats in and the harbor entrances are not so protective as you would want, it can be sometimes daunting.

When the wind comes up in the direction we are anchored, the chop traps pockets of air between the chine and the water at the waterline resulting in a really loud rhythmic and continual thud that sounds like an NFL lineman is in the water banging the hull with the heel of a closed fist.

If I've been fishing in a kayak all day I can go right to sleep, but when I wake up at 2 am I see that my wife is still awake and unhappy and I can't go back to sleep either.

A little research showed that other Nordic Tug owners had experimented with different temporary fixes that either didn't work or required lines and two people to deploy. Not good for my local conditions.

So I went to the Ventura Harbor Boat Yard and had them install foam blocks covered with plenty of glass, all faired in to take the really hard edge off the inside of the chine either side of where it hits the waterline. The result was amazing with almost zero handling effects at normal speeds. The spray pattern is different at lower speeds, but not a problem. Really not a cheap project, unless you have time and skill to do it yourself, so not for the faint of heart. I haven't found anybody that has done this that is not happy with it.

My wife was so thrilled with my modification that I didn't even have to lie to her about what it cost. That's saying something.

dwilkieo · 12-27-2018, 12:39 PM

Thanks for the welcomes. I will learn a lot here and hopefully contribute some too....

swampyankee · 12-27-2018, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwilkieo

I think in pristine, well protected harbors, this can be a non-problem. But in SoCal harbors, especially Santa Cruz Island, where crowding dictates that you drop a second hook to allow more boats in and the harbor entrances are not so protective as you would want, it can be sometimes daunting.

When the wind comes up in the direction we are anchored, the chop traps pockets of air between the chine and the water at the waterline resulting in a really loud rhythmic and continual thud that sounds like an NFL lineman is in the water banging the hull with the heel of a closed fist.

If I've been fishing in a kayak all day I can go right to sleep, but when I wake up at 2 am I see that my wife is still awake and unhappy and I can't go back to sleep either.

A little research showed that other Nordic Tug owners had experimented with different temporary fixes that either didn't work or required lines and two people to deploy. Not good for my local conditions.

So I went to the Ventura Harbor Boat Yard and had them install foam blocks covered with plenty of glass, all faired in to take the really hard edge off the inside of the chine either side of where it hits the waterline. The result was amazing with almost zero handling effects at normal speeds. The spray pattern is different at lower speeds, but not a problem. Really not a cheap project, unless you have time and skill to do it yourself, so not for the faint of heart. I haven't found anybody that has done this that is not happy with it.

My wife was so thrilled with my modification that I didn't even have to lie to her about what it cost. That's saying something.

After I read your post I did some searching and found some discussion about the issue. Alot of people basically said "man up", but I'm with you. It's not just your average waves lapping on the hull like my sailboats, this is a loud "plop" sound as even the smallest wave slaps the underside of that hard chine shelf. We were anchored in a normally very protected cove and the sound kept us both up all night.

I'd be tempted to do what you did, but we see ourselves moving up in size in a short time so I don't want to invest the time and energy, and risk spoiling resale value.
We were talking about using some sound deadening material on the inside of the hull, and followed by a large wad of insulation of some sort. As a last resort, we sleep on the settee and use the V berth for storage.

dwilkieo · 12-27-2018, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampyankee

We were talking about using some sound deadening material on the inside of the hull, and followed by a large wad of insulation of some sort. As a last resort, we sleep on the settee and use the V berth for storage.

I have a buddy with a sistership NT 32 in my harbor who had done all of the research. Built a bridal thingie that was difficult to deploy and in the way at departure time. Covered the interior of the hull under the forward cabin with some sound retardant material. Finally filled the entire space with foam swim noodles. None of it worked at all. He had VHBY do the fill on his chines and was happy. That encouraged me to spend the money, since this is my last boat....

Ang · 12-27-2018, 02:46 PM

Welcome to the forum.

We are also new owners of a NT-32. We love it. We did the Amtico replacement last September. Very happy with it.

Cheers,

Tootles · 12-27-2018, 06:43 PM

Likewise on our 26 we love the durability of the Amtico. We put heavy mass sound damping on the inside of the hull and then laid more under the bed with good results. We were guided by Soundown which are in California and Florida.

dwilkieo · 12-28-2018, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tootles

Likewise on our 26 we love the durability of the Amtico. We put heavy mass sound damping on the inside of the hull and then laid more under the bed with good results. We were guided by Soundown which are in California and Florida.

Can you elaborate on what and where Sundown is? I did a google search and found nothing that seemed on topic.

Thanks in advance....

dwilkieo · 12-28-2018, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ang

Welcome to the forum.

We are also new owners of a NT-32. We love it. We did the Amtico replacement last September. Very happy with it.

May I ask if you did the work yourself, and if not, who did the work for you? I have been contemplating bringing my boat up to the PNW for an extended cruise. I know there are installers up there. Haven't found anybody in SoCal yet that will do this work so I am wondering if I want to tackle it.

Thanks....

Tootles · 12-28-2018, 02:08 PM

I sincerely apologize for the typo. Should be Soundown so sorry

dwilkieo · 12-29-2018, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tootles

I sincerely apologize for the typo. Should be Soundown so sorry

Got it! Thanks for the info. Great stuff. Learning a lot. Their site shows another product for use under floors. I will call them in the new year and start this process. Thanks to TunaJoe for other hookups on the Amtico. I’m going to do this.

Ang · 12-30-2018, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwilkieo

May I ask if you did the work yourself, and if not, who did the work for you? I have been contemplating bringing my boat up to the PNW for an extended cruise. I know there are installers up there. Haven't found anybody in SoCal yet that will do this work so I am wondering if I want to tackle it.

Thanks....

The fellow who did my installation is a retired Nordic Tug employee. I think he does a number of these every year. Keeps him busy. Send me a PM and i'll forward his contact information.
Cheers,

garycasey · 12-31-2018, 02:47 PM

The noise generated by the hard chine was disturbingly obvious the first night I spent on the boat. I too thought about how to fix it, but it looks like your modification is the only true fix. It looks most excellent from the pictures. I wonder why NT bragged so much about the design. My layman's opinion is that any sharp corner will reduce the efficiency of the hull. I assume the shape has something to do with generating lift or controlling the bow wave. Regardless, the elimination of the slapping at anchor would rate higher than any possible improvement in wave action. Besides, the shape that you ended up with after the modification looks to be much better than the original.