Your thoughts, good or bad on this tug/trawler...

http://tugboatforsale.com

I stumbled across this gem yesterday whilst surfing the web. A bit much with the all tires but I still like it. Sure seems like a fair asking price.
Discus...

More pics on yachtworld

Me like. Needs some work on the wheel. Fisheye lens is an affectation and doesn't help at all. Check the deck/house to hull join for corrosion, carefully. I've seen that one somewhere, it's been for sale for a while. Offer $50.

I wanted a tug a lot, missed a dandy 65 footer, but big dollars to moor and haul. At least this one is not wood. Need to check the thickness of the steel. Need to buy a set of giant Rigid pipe wrenches for this one?

I've looked at that thing quite a few times trolling yachtworld for my next mistake. I've always liked it but wife not so much. Too much of a "guys" boat for her liking.

I actually like the tires and the giant fender on the bow. To me that says "look out yachties, I'm coming in, so get outta my way" and the way I dock all the rubber would come in handy.

What's up with the strange rear cabin entrance and the toilet out in the middle of the room?

Windlass seems a little whimpy...

I like not caring if you need to hook a piling to dock, or stuff the bow in a corner while you attach the lines, or wear cowboy boots on the deck if you want. Tires good, as long as they're steel belted radials.

Oh, hell yeah!

I believe I have docked next to that boat in Tarpon Springs a few years ago. At the municipal marina. The name Raven jogged my memory. But I don't recall much else about it.

If the paint is bubbling off on the outside, what's happening inside where you can't see it? For a boat not 20 years old the hull looks really rough...ready for a complete blast and new paint system....might be great but there are no photos of the engineroom or structure that I saw, why? Cut asking in half.

Greetings,
Mt. Tad. There were, in fact, pictures of the ER. While the rest of the boat looked quite nice and "ship shape", the ER was messy, dirty and quite frankly a dog's breakfast. Some evidence of "engine rattle can rebuilding", messy decking, absolutely NO thought to routing of wires or hoses a veritable hell hole of mess. For THAT reason alone I would drastically drop any offer I made.
That fish-eye lens seriously skews any perspective to the point I have no idea how the boat is laid out. Nope, not for me thanks.
The state of the ER tells ME what the sellers REALLY did for upkeep other than the sh*t and shinola for the rest of the vessel.

I wouldn't want to be the poor sap that has to sleep with his head next to the commode!

Thanks for the input y'all and thank you Tad for your professional opinion.

I wonder if after writing the long description of what the Spurs cutter is supposed to do, he noticed that half the system is missing?

Aircraft tires are to expensive to replace.....no thanks.

Having to maintain an engine just for the thruster seems a bit much for a pleasure boat.

Interesting boat but I bet no fun when it comes time to resell.

It would certainly catch people's attention on the water or at a marina, but it's not for me, not even close.

And yes, the fisheye lens used for the photos makes them just about useless. Photos taken with a phone would have been more useful.

The risk you take when you build a custom boat is that when you're done with it, there may be no one else who likes it as much as you did when you built it. Buy a production boat and there will be a market for it down the road.

I visited this boat as a prospective buyer. The boat was in very poor shape; rusted to a dangerous degree and the engine room was such a mess as to be a very real fire hazard. The owners were brokering the boat themselves and were really out of their depth. I felt sorry for them since this boat seemed to me to be a lost cause into which they had poured lots of money over the years. So impressed were they with the impressive appearance they overlooked the very basic flaws.

I tend to dance to the beat of a different drummer, always have. I'm used to other folks opinions being different from mine, makes life interesting for me but not so much for my lovely wife

Thanks Charles, I kind of had that feeling also after a bit of emailing.

CharlieNoble said:

I visited this boat as a prospective buyer. The boat was in very poor shape; rusted to a dangerous degree and the engine room was such a mess as to be a very real fire hazard. The owners were brokering the boat themselves and were really out of their depth. I felt sorry for them since this boat seemed to me to be a lost cause into which they had poured lots of money over the years. So impressed were they with the impressive appearance they overlooked the very basic flaws.

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Greetings,
Mr. C. Welcome aboard.

I like this one better. And look at those awesome flopper stoppers!

http://m.yachtworld.com/mobile/listing/photoGallery.jsp?boat_id=2546547

It's obvious whoever listed the tonnage figures, and the length of chain loves zeroes a bit much. Apart from that I'll take the contrarian approach and say this is the kind of boat I want when I grow up. As to the engine room mess, granted. But you should've seen the ER's on a couple of the commercial tugs on which I served over the years. They'd make this boat's ER look like an operating theatre. As a neat freak it pains me to say this, but I'd caution against mistaking cleanliness for reliability. Bought for the right price, with a little elbow grease, a spot of paint, a few throw pillows and she'd be a gem for those (like me) with quirky personalities (and no Admirals to worry about).

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Having to maintain an engine just for the thruster seems a bit much for a pleasure boat.

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Since the thruster and its tunnel seems to have joined the static parts of the Spurs in their departure from the boat, I believe thruster engine maintenance will be minimal.

RickB said:

Since the thruster and its tunnel seems to have joined the static parts of the Spurs in their departure from the boat, I believe thruster engine maintenance will be minimal.

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Just remarking on what was written in the ad. Perhaps my sarcasm gland is weak today.

Greetings,
Capt. K. You've hit the nail on the head " Bought for the right price,". I'm not equating cleanliness with reliability at all but if one is selling any item the best way to get top dollar is to present said item in it's best light. You're selling your car. The few $$ spent for detailing will very much contribute to a successful sale. As you say, a little elbow grease and a spot of paint would go a long way in my eyes to make this particular vessel more appealing. Alas, in this vessels case, I think maintenance has been lacking. Simply no pride of ownership. I stand corrected. Re-read the listing and it states maintenance has been performed by certified mechanic. Still......
In my case, my ER is not the black hole of Calcutta by any means and every time I visit, a re-furb' of the ER moves a few slots up the to-do list but is usually knocked back down by more pressing issues.
Just a couple of "similar" vessels in the $95K price range with nice ER's. So neat and tidy is not impossible....
Combitrawler 43' (Sedan)
Tug boat Sana

RickB said:

Since the thruster and its tunnel seems to have joined the static parts of the Spurs in their departure from the boat, I believe thruster engine maintenance will be minimal.

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Yes, I was puzzled at the lack of a hull hole for the Ferryman diesel thruster.

Three ifs

• IF the steel is good
• IF the ER and an mechanicals could be made acceptable
• IF the electrical circuits were done so as to prevent the steel from rotting away

It would be a fun vessel. And it is FD!

sunchaser said:

It would be a fun vessel. And it is FD!

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How can you tell without a photo of the whole stern?

RickB said:

How can you tell without a photo of the whole stern?

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Ahhhhhhhhhh, well maybe it is because the forepeak, forefoot and forecastle seem to intersect where forethought and foresight foretell the foremast on the foredeck with forebodence.

For sure.