42 Nordic Tugs 2009

Source: Power & Motoryacht Magazine

Nordic Tugs is inarguably the most recognizable of the semi-displacement designs on the water today. With a long-standing pedigree and huge popularity, this tried-and-true long distance cruiser has earned her stripes as a proven design that withstands the test of time. The best way to get a down and dirty view of a new Nordic Tug 42 is without the hype of marketing polish and temporary boat show decorations, in other words — just a raw boat on the hard.

Key Features

• Oyster gel coat hull with colored inset and waterline
• Structural lamination with multiple layers of hand laminated fiberglass reinforced plastic using knitted fiberglass
• Boarding platform with SS through bolted brackets and under mounted telescopic swim ladder
• All exterior fasteners 316 SS
• Bilge Pumps – 2000 GPH, in three compartments with auto/manual switches at helm
• Bonding System – common bonding zincs on transom plus rudder, shoe & thruster zincs
• Windlass – 12VDC LOFRANS TIGRES LW400AN, 1200W anchor windlass with foot controls at bow and remote control at helm

What better way to get the view of a new build than to visit her on the hard before delivery.

Capt. Steve Says…
Nordic Tugs has been making long distance coastal cruisers for a long time, and their design has changed relatively little over 30 years. There’s a good reason for that, why fix something if it isn’t broke. Each new design is basically a larger iteration that still has the characteristic tugboat heritage that make Nordic Tugs the workhorses of the distance cruiser set. Let’s take a closer look at what sort of qualities the Nordic Tug 42 brings to a cruising lifestyle.

Accommodations…
For starters, we have a two stateroom, two head boat. This is a great combination for a small family, or more commonly, two cruising couples. What better way to spend retirement than cruising the inside passage of Alaska, or the Great Circle of the Eastern U.S.?

Two staterooms and two heads make for a perfect combination for a small family or two cruising couples.

The accommodations are kept well separate from each other, so privacy and getting alone time, even in the confines of a boat, are not a problem. The forward and mid guest staterooms are accessed from the main salon down a stairway. The master stateroom features a centerline mounted queen sized island berth. There is storage in four drawers underneath, and in hull side storage cabinets. The master head has a household size Sealand 5000+ series toilet, a shower stall with bi-fold door, Corian countertops, and a separate linen locker with teak doors. The deck is teak and holly.

The mid-cabin has a single berth that converts to a full berth. The head has the same features as the master.

Here is the nav station or an “office” with desk for laptop PC and nav repeater space on a forward panel. Note critical ships controls right next to the station, where they belong.

What I really like is the nav station, a pivotal element to any long range cruiser. Here is where we gather to discuss the next destination and ports of call. This station has a desk space for a laptop, which will certainly get loaded with charting software, and room for repeaters of the electronics mounted in the pilothouse. Also, right next to the nav station are the electrical panels for controlling ships components.

The salon has a teak and holly sole (optional), the cabinet to starboard has an icemaker, the aft port cabinet houses the entertainment center with a Bose 1-2-3 system and 19” TV. The settee has storage underneath and converts to another berth. All valances are teak. The ladder aft leads to the boat deck.

Galley…
A U-shaped galley is nicely appointed with a 3-burner propane stove, microwave with a stainless finish, a dual volt Nova Kool refrigerator/freezer, trash compactor, storage seemingly everywhere, and a teak and holly sole.

Note the window right next to the galley. Great for cross ventilating out any food odors and reducing heat when cooking.

Pilothouse…
The heart and soul of the cruising yacht is the pilothouse. This one is comfortable, has all around visibility, and it’s able to protect from the elements while we keep going and going…. There is a settee aft, as this is always the central gathering area while underway, and there is a second, aft facing, settee to starboard of the helm. A Stidd (optional) helm seat keeps the captain comfortable, two Diamond Sea Glaze sliding doors allow for access from both sides as well as cross ventilation.

Diamond Sea Glaze doors to both port and starboard, to starboard (just out of shot) is an aft facing settee. Aft is a larger settee, to port is a chart table with storage drawers. Note the wide open spaced for nav displays.

A chart table with chart storage lies to port, there is plenty of open space for mounting your choice of electronics packages.

Running gear…
Below the waterline are the meat and potatoes of the Nordic Tug 42. A 30” five-blade Hung Shen NiBrAl propeller is connected to a 2 ½” SS shaft that is driven by a standard 550-hp Cummins for 2010 QSC 8.3 high output. All running gear is protected by a full keel and skeg running aft to the rudder. Bow and stern (optional) thrusters assist in close quarters maneuvering.

Shallow draft areas are no problem for the Nordic Tug 42 as all running gear is protected.

Specifications and performance…
The Nordic Tug 42 has a LOA of 46’3” (14.1 m), a beam of 13’10” (4.2 m), and a draft of 4’7″ (1.4 m). Her dry weight is 31,400 lbs. (14,200 kg), fuel capacity is 600 gallons (2271 L), and her water capacity is 200 gallons (757 L). While we haven’t tested this model yet, Nordic Tugs reports that her typical range is approx. 1,700 nm (1,956 sm) at 8 kts cruise. Given her waterline length of 40’2″ (12.3 m) she would have a (displace42 Nordic Tugs 2009ment) hull speed of 8.5 kts and a best cruise of slightly less than that. Thus, Nordic Tugs’ 1,700 nm estimate using 8 kts should not be far off. That’s 3.15 nm per gallon…not a bad performer at all.

If the idea of living out your retirement, or extended vacation is casting off the dock lines and heading to whatever lies at the edge of the chart, then the Nordic Tug 42 is just the boat to take you there, safely, comfortably, and with the peace of mind of a 10-year transferable factory warranty covering structural hull and gelcoat. Considering the conditions these boats are designed to operate in during an offshore passage… that’s standing behind your product.

Boat Specifications: 42 Nordic Tugs 2009