Nordic tug 39

My Captain and I looked at the Nordic Tug 39 (w/flybridge) at the Annapolis boat show. We are moving up from a Swift Trawler 34 and were impressed with the ND 39.
Any thoughts on seakeeping, liveability, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

I sent you a PM.

Endurance said:

I sent you a PM.

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What? You won't share with the rest of the class?

SOJOURN4 said:

My Captain and I looked at the Nordic Tug 39 (w/flybridge) at the Annapolis boat show. We are moving up from a Swift Trawler 34 and were impressed with the ND 39.
Any thoughts on seakeeping, liveability, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

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i guess the first question would be why are you seeking to move up? What is it you're looking for that you don't have now? Also, what do you like most about what you have now?

NTs are good boats. I had a 42 for 5 years and loved it. But, I have the same question as BandB.

I am going to guess that Endurance's PM suggested that you look at American Tugs. These too are excellent boats. In most models you get a little more beam which translates to more interior space.

I bought a 2000 (hull 15) NT 37 a year ago. It's the same hull and house as the 39 but the 39 has a somewhat different interior layout.

So far I've put close to 600 hours on the boat and am very happy. I've averaged 2.1 gallons per hour at 7.2 knots (normally cruise 8 knots, but marina/anchoring time slows down the average). Occasionally I'll speed up to make a beam sea more comfortable, fight a strong adverse current, or load the engine fully.

The layout works great. It's small enough to easily single hand (I single handed south from Craig, AK to Anacortes this summer) but big enough to have guests on the boat. I had between 1 and 4 others on the boat for two months last summer and only occasionally felt crowded.

Yesterday I crossed from Peavine Pass to Skyline Marina with wind gusting to 47 knots...32 knots sustained, right on the bow. Sheets of spray but no green water over the bow, and not a single leaky window or porthole. Pretty impressive for a 14 year old boat with 3400 hours and no knowledge of previous window resealing.

I personally prefer the layout of the 37s to the 39s. The huge chart table in the pilothouse is more useful than the wider helm station. I like to stand when I work on the computer, and the chart table allows me to have a few guidebooks open while I plot routes on Coastal Explorer. Counter space is lacking in many small boats.

The engine space is well laid out with decent room to work. I can sit straight up on either side of the engine while working on it. Oil changes, fuel filter changes, etc are easy.

I've had two major failures on the boat: an alternator and a windlass. The windlass dies on a shakedown and was replaced with a much more robust model (I think NT way undersized the windlasses on the original 37s). When I installed the new windlass I was impressed with the 2 inch+ thick layup of the deck (and the core was dry!!!) and the fact that Nordic had oversized the windlass cables significantly and I could reuse them with a 1000 watt windlass (the original was 450w). The alternator failure was no big deal, aside from the initial alarm of smoke pouring from the engine room 60 miles from the nearest dock...thankfully it only takes 20 minutes to install the spare.

If you're looking at a new boat the American Tug 395 is worth checking out. I personally don't like the lines of the ATs as much...they look chunky to me...but they seem to build a good boat. Incidentally my 37 was one of the last that the American Tug guys built before they left NT and started AT.

If you make it out to Anacortes in your search I'm happy to give you a ride. Have fun searching for the right boat!

Awesome response!

Billyfeet said:

Awesome response!

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Agreed! Sure wish there were a Like feature!

I third that "Awesome response!", certainly MILES better then "I PM'ed you".

I looked at the same 39 at the Annapolis show last week and agree with Retriever on the layout of the old 37 versus the 39. The comment on single handing is nice to know. When I last saw Retriever in Craig, he was sandwiched between some 40-50 foot seiners rafted 4 deep in front of him and 3 deep behind him. I always wondered how he got out of that.

Tom

tpbrady said:

I looked at the same 39 at the Annapolis show last week and agree with Retriever on the layout of the old 37 versus the 39. The comment on single handing is nice to know. When I last saw Retriever in Craig, he was sandwiched between some 40-50 foot seiners rafted 4 deep in front of him and 3 deep behind him. I always wondered how he got out of that.

Tom

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Tom, good to see you on here. Getting out of that spot actually wasn't bad. I kicked the stern out with a quick burst of forward against the rudder hard over towards the dock, then used the bow thruster to rotate the bow 90 degrees. At that point I was perpendicular to the rafted seiners and I motored right out.

Even if I'd had a stern thruster I couldn't have just scooted out sideways. I had about 46 feet of length to work with on the dock, but had to shoot through an opening that was only about 38 feet wide because the wind was blowing the raft of seiners behind me forward and their lines were stretching a bit.

Endurance said:

I sent you a PM.

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C'mon, tell us how you really feel!!

Retriever

Nice to see another example of boats being used for their intended purpose.

Thanks for all of the great information and opinions!!!
Major reason for moving on up is to get a little more elbow room and storage space. We have been from NYC to spending extended time on the Chesapeake on our ST34 and she fits the bill for 2 to 3 weeks at a time but we think in terms of longer cruising comfort - size does matter.

I think Endurance was letting the OP know his boat was for sale.
Even though I'm a NT32 owner, If I had to choose between the NT 39 and Endurance (AT395) Endurance would win hands down.
That particular boat is spectacular and like new.

Of course, I am just speculating
Carry on....

Actually, I just didn't want to post a ridiculously long message that would bore most people and would be mostly of interest to one particular person in a forum (I can be long-winded, my wife warns me about that all the time).

We're moving from the east coast to the PNW in a couple of weeks. Because of very bad past personal experiences with trucking boats, I really did not want to transport my boat 3000 miles, though I also seriously (but platonically) love it and didn't really want to sell it either. I listed it for sale as a possible alternative to trucking (and would have bought another one like her in Washington). I had a couple of offers, but it didn't happen (probably because I really didn't want to sell it in the first place).

Despite my extreme anxiety and reticence about trucking a boat across the country, Endurance is now wrapped up and about to be loaded on a truck, and I'm no longer thinking of selling her. Both we, and the boat, will arrive in the PNW in a couple of weeks (and then after going through the aggravation of the move, I'll never sell her, it will be up to my wife after I'm gone).

BTW and FWIW, I also like and respect Nordic Tugs very much, and probably would've bought one if American Tug wasn't around. I just personally prefer the AT as a better fit with my own priorities and desires.

SOJOURN4 said:

Thanks for all of the great information and opinions!!!
Major reason for moving on up is to get a little more elbow room and storage space. We have been from NYC to spending extended time on the Chesapeake on our ST34 and she fits the bill for 2 to 3 weeks at a time but we think in terms of longer cruising comfort - size does matter.

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Then I would suggest some chartering. It would be a shame to move from the ST34 to a 39 and find the space on it didn't meet your needs and that you really wanted a 45' boat. Also, are you comfortable giving up the speed your current boat has? Why are you not considering a ST 44?

Also, when it comes to space, think of what kind of space. Inside or out? Master stateroom or more staterooms? Head or Salon. Galley or Pilothouse?

Thanks Endurance, all the best with your transport.

Endurance said:

Actually, I just didn't want to post a ridiculously long message that would bore most people and would be mostly of interest to one particular person in a forum (I can be long-winded, my wife warns me about that all the time).

We're moving from the east coast to the PNW in a couple of weeks. Because of very bad past personal experiences with trucking boats, I really did not want to transport my boat 3000 miles, though I also seriously (but platonically) love it and didn't really want to sell it either. I listed it for sale as a possible alternative to trucking (and would have bought another one like her in Washington). I had a couple of offers, but it didn't happen (probably because I really didn't want to sell it in the first place).

Despite my extreme anxiety and reticence about trucking a boat across the country, Endurance is now wrapped up and about to be loaded on a truck, and I'm no longer thinking of selling her. Both we, and the boat, will arrive in the PNW in a couple of weeks (and then after going through the aggravation of the move, I'll never sell her, it will be up to my wife after I'm gone).

BTW and FWIW, I also like and respect Nordic Tugs very much, and probably would've bought one if American Tug wasn't around. I just personally prefer the AT as a better fit with my own priorities and desires.

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We all have our own particular kryptonite, and mine is having a boat transported by truck.

One time I had it done, the truck driver went under a bridge that was 2 inches lower than the height of the loaded boat. Ironically (and stupidly), the year before, the same driver, same company, went under the same bridge with the same model boat, with the same result. I guess he thought either the bridge had grown in the year since the first incident, or maybe that he had gouged a chunk of the bridge out with the first impact that would make room. The trucking company owner said it would "buff right out".

Another time I had a 42 ft boat trucked for which the flybridge had to be removed. When the yard pulled the bridge off, there was a giant, terrible sucking sound of much of the gelcoat, and underlying laminate, coming off the cabin roof. Despite the yard working on it for 6 months and charging me over $25,000, I still wasn't happy with the results (fortunately the bridge came off of Endurance easily).

There will be much gnashing of teeth and biting of nails until the boat arrives on Puget Sound in a couple of weeks...

To the OP, good luck and have fun boat shopping.

BandB and ALL -
Thanks for the info and insight. We are looking at the ST44 as an option - but just wanted to keep the thread "on point" to thoughts on the NT 395 as my educator Capt would say!!!

Thanks again......

Well, I think the NT's and AT's in the 39' range are great. Just worried if the 34 is really too small for you that a 44-50' might be more appropriate to keep you from the same thoughts soon after buying the new boat.