Hello TF Members!
I have lurked and learned from this forum for several years now, and have enjoyed the banter and witty humor from many throughout that time. I myself am not nearly as wise or knowledgeable and admit I have much to learn!
About us...we are former owners of the beautiful 2008 American Tug 435 "Cow Wrecked" which we were truly proud of and enjoyed immensely. It is the vessel that made us realize we were "Trawler Folk" at heart.
My background is boating, fishing, and scuba diving on the East Coast of Florida where I was born and raised. I went off to college and then to the US Coast Guard where I served aboard the USCGC Sedge WLB402, an Ice breaking buoy tender (decommissioned) and then in Florida as a BM2 SAR Coxswain and Boarding Officer at USCG Station Ponce De Leon Inlet. I mainly operated the venerable 41UTB (also decommissioned) and various RHIB's. I also have flown a variety of aircraft including, fixed wings, gyroplanes, and helicopters, some of which I built myself!
My wife and I have spent a lot of time bareboat sailing monohulls and sail-cats in the Caribbean, when we weren't enjoying our own "vessel of freedom!"
Recently, we had the good fortune of being able to spend an entire day sea trialing the Elling E4 demo boat in Maryland. This is the same E4 that was at Trawler Fest and others. We had researched Elling as much as one can with the internet, this forum, and by asking around to mentors, The overall consensus was that very few people were even aware of this brand in the USA. From pictures, lots of YouTube videos translated from Russian, and reviews, we traveled to Maryland with a short list of concerns that would be deal breakers if not met.
They were:
Engine access, Mechanical access throughout the boat, Storage space, Access from the pilot house to outside deck, lighting, and feeling "confined" when down below decks...
To get to the point quickly, those concerns were quickly allayed upon inspection and underway operation.
There have been reviews that speak to the handling of the boat, its sea worthiness, and they are all spot on, so I won't get into all of that. One of the best takeaways from the day "at sea" was that there isn't an uncomfortable place to be on the boat! Every settee, couch, chair, bed, helm position, etc is incredibly comfortable and ergonomic. The natural lighting and the way that the design makes you feel "open and airy" is really genius.
Both myself and my wife actually loved the downstairs living area. This was another big departure from typical designs. We both felt it was very spacious, comfortable, offered enhanced privacy from marina neighbors, and was just overall well designed. It absolutely mimics a large monohull sailboat design. That will be a preferential issue for some, but we loved the genius of it all.
The pilot house access and its elevated position is fantastic. While we were moored at the marina, the helm position was almost the same as the 50ft flybridge equipped boat next to us. Ingress and Egress thru the aft pilot house door is also very intelligent. On our tug, with the two pilot house doors open and when the weather was less than beautiful, sea spray and/or rain would come thru those doors. On the Elling, you're at least as close to "on deck" at a moments notice thru the back door, but you never have a drop of water coming in where you don't want it. Again, a very smart design.
Access to almost any system is just lifting up a deck plate or opening a hatch. You are NOT crawling down into a bilge or laz for anything.
Engine access, which is definitely non standard, is very intelligent, even when making underway engine checks. Removing the big door in the gallery is not necessary. You just open an access panel in the master suite. This was a big concern for me until I was actually on the boat and doing it myself. Access to bilge pumps, strainers, HVAC systems etc, is same if not better than the AT435.
Storage, is at least as good as our tug with the extra office/berth, cabinets, drawers, large deck boxes, integrated fender storage, etc. The lazarette on our tug usually was the catch all for all our mooring items, and general water activity stuff, but you also had to crawl way down in there to open and close the black water valve which wasn't fun. The E4 remedies all of that.
There were strange things that we would change about a "stock" Elling and here is a short list of those:
Swap out all the custom small sea water strainers for large Groco strainers, replace any non stainless ball valves with stainless, add a reverso oil change system to all engines and gear boxes, add a sea water pump for an anchor wash down (there is nothing installed there now and there is no lip to catch the inevitable mud that will be all over the deck), and add a prop shaft line cutter.
To sum this up, we fell in love with the Elling E4. It's the perfect compromise of displacement cruise efficiency, 19 knt "get the hell outta here" capability, shallow draft go almost anywhere, Ocean A rated sea worthiness, comfort, and quality of construction. We have loved interacting with Anton at the factory in Holland and Jack, the US rep in Maryland. They are no pressure, hyper accommodating, no BS people and that's the kind of people we prefer. We are working with the factory on a new boat with an extensive list of custom features hopefully to be delivered in March of 2024.
Will keep you posted! Happy Thanksgiving!��
I have lurked and learned from this forum for several years now, and have enjoyed the banter and witty humor from many throughout that time. I myself am not nearly as wise or knowledgeable and admit I have much to learn!
About us...we are former owners of the beautiful 2008 American Tug 435 "Cow Wrecked" which we were truly proud of and enjoyed immensely. It is the vessel that made us realize we were "Trawler Folk" at heart.
My background is boating, fishing, and scuba diving on the East Coast of Florida where I was born and raised. I went off to college and then to the US Coast Guard where I served aboard the USCGC Sedge WLB402, an Ice breaking buoy tender (decommissioned) and then in Florida as a BM2 SAR Coxswain and Boarding Officer at USCG Station Ponce De Leon Inlet. I mainly operated the venerable 41UTB (also decommissioned) and various RHIB's. I also have flown a variety of aircraft including, fixed wings, gyroplanes, and helicopters, some of which I built myself!
My wife and I have spent a lot of time bareboat sailing monohulls and sail-cats in the Caribbean, when we weren't enjoying our own "vessel of freedom!"
Recently, we had the good fortune of being able to spend an entire day sea trialing the Elling E4 demo boat in Maryland. This is the same E4 that was at Trawler Fest and others. We had researched Elling as much as one can with the internet, this forum, and by asking around to mentors, The overall consensus was that very few people were even aware of this brand in the USA. From pictures, lots of YouTube videos translated from Russian, and reviews, we traveled to Maryland with a short list of concerns that would be deal breakers if not met.
They were:
Engine access, Mechanical access throughout the boat, Storage space, Access from the pilot house to outside deck, lighting, and feeling "confined" when down below decks...
To get to the point quickly, those concerns were quickly allayed upon inspection and underway operation.
There have been reviews that speak to the handling of the boat, its sea worthiness, and they are all spot on, so I won't get into all of that. One of the best takeaways from the day "at sea" was that there isn't an uncomfortable place to be on the boat! Every settee, couch, chair, bed, helm position, etc is incredibly comfortable and ergonomic. The natural lighting and the way that the design makes you feel "open and airy" is really genius.
Both myself and my wife actually loved the downstairs living area. This was another big departure from typical designs. We both felt it was very spacious, comfortable, offered enhanced privacy from marina neighbors, and was just overall well designed. It absolutely mimics a large monohull sailboat design. That will be a preferential issue for some, but we loved the genius of it all.
The pilot house access and its elevated position is fantastic. While we were moored at the marina, the helm position was almost the same as the 50ft flybridge equipped boat next to us. Ingress and Egress thru the aft pilot house door is also very intelligent. On our tug, with the two pilot house doors open and when the weather was less than beautiful, sea spray and/or rain would come thru those doors. On the Elling, you're at least as close to "on deck" at a moments notice thru the back door, but you never have a drop of water coming in where you don't want it. Again, a very smart design.
Access to almost any system is just lifting up a deck plate or opening a hatch. You are NOT crawling down into a bilge or laz for anything.
Engine access, which is definitely non standard, is very intelligent, even when making underway engine checks. Removing the big door in the gallery is not necessary. You just open an access panel in the master suite. This was a big concern for me until I was actually on the boat and doing it myself. Access to bilge pumps, strainers, HVAC systems etc, is same if not better than the AT435.
Storage, is at least as good as our tug with the extra office/berth, cabinets, drawers, large deck boxes, integrated fender storage, etc. The lazarette on our tug usually was the catch all for all our mooring items, and general water activity stuff, but you also had to crawl way down in there to open and close the black water valve which wasn't fun. The E4 remedies all of that.
There were strange things that we would change about a "stock" Elling and here is a short list of those:
Swap out all the custom small sea water strainers for large Groco strainers, replace any non stainless ball valves with stainless, add a reverso oil change system to all engines and gear boxes, add a sea water pump for an anchor wash down (there is nothing installed there now and there is no lip to catch the inevitable mud that will be all over the deck), and add a prop shaft line cutter.
To sum this up, we fell in love with the Elling E4. It's the perfect compromise of displacement cruise efficiency, 19 knt "get the hell outta here" capability, shallow draft go almost anywhere, Ocean A rated sea worthiness, comfort, and quality of construction. We have loved interacting with Anton at the factory in Holland and Jack, the US rep in Maryland. They are no pressure, hyper accommodating, no BS people and that's the kind of people we prefer. We are working with the factory on a new boat with an extensive list of custom features hopefully to be delivered in March of 2024.
Will keep you posted! Happy Thanksgiving!��
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