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Originally Posted by FlyWright
Welcome, Shawn! I just looked up the American Tug 485. What a beautiful layour and a great looking boat!
2014 American Tug 485
Tell us about your role in the build process. Have you been able to customize features in your new boat? Have you been kept in the loop during the build process? Pictures provided for you? Have you been able to visit the factory during the build to see the progress and problem areas first-hand?
I look forward to learning lots more about your boat and experience through the build. |
The 485 is a new design. It got started shortly after I asked Tomco (makers of the American Tug) to cut my AT435 in half and add 5 feet. We loved our AT435. It was a great boat. However, I felt the boat would reach my view of the perfect cruising boat if it was just a little bigger. When Tomco realized I was serious, they asked if I would be interested in helping in providing the customers input into a new design. The new boat actually started out being a 475 but after some discussion they extended the boat to 485. It will come in at 49' 6". I was looking for a boat that would be under 50 feet. Tomco already offered a 535 but I didn't want a boat that big. We are also updating the electronics. Mine will come a NEMA 2000 backbone. The first boat out of the factory, not mine, will come with a 550 hp Cummins engine. It was launched last week and is currently going through sea trials. All reports are that it is surpassing expectations. Salish Lady will come with a smaller commercial continuous duty fishing engine (405 hp). We never used the faster engine in the AT435 and wanted and engine that would be better aligned with our cruising style. We expect her to splash in about 2 to 3 weeks.
Tomco has been excellent to work with during the build. The boat is highly customizable and the folks at Tomco are very willing to discuss ideas. It has been my experience that they are often very good at advising on what will work well.
We have received lots of pictures and are always welcome at the plant in LaConner. It is really nice to be able to schedule regular trips to the boat. They have even mocked up the layout for us so we could get and idea of how she will look.
We worked out the problems before we started. There were several hard discussions about what we wanted, especially around the engine. However, once they understood what we were trying to accomplish, they really took the lead in making our vision come to reality.
We will upload pictures of her in a few weeks when she is done.
Thanks for you interest.
Shawn
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