49 Nordic Tugs 2009

Source: Power & Motoryacht Magazine

The new Nordic Tug 49 has the range and livability to go long range cruising in comfort and style. Her freeboard ranges from 8′ 9″ /2.7m at the bow to 5′ 4” / 1.60m at the cockpit. This is the first Nordic Tug with a flared bow and molded spray rails.

The Great Circle Loop…
What’s so great about a circle? Well this one has a lot to offer if you have the right boat. It is inarguably the safest long distance cruising route in the world and basically covers the Eastern portion of North America from the Mississippi east. The route is travelled on one long continuous cruise by some and in pieces over years by others. The route’s common denominator, though, is the restrictions of the waterways that define a specific set of parameters for the boat of choice.

There are a number of good cruising guides for the Great Circle.

You need less than roughly 8’/2.4 m of draft and need to fit under the lowest bridge height of 19’/5.8 m, and you need a range of at least 250 miles/402k. This puts you in a class of boat in the 35-60 foot/10.6m-18.2m range, with coastal passagemakers being the ideal fit for comfort and livability, as well as the versatility to take you on farther routes of the less travelled cruisers. Enter the Nordic Tug.

Externally…
The new Nordic Tug 49 fills a long standing gap between the ever popular 42 and the heavy 68,000 lbs./27,216 kg. 54. Her look is classic Nordic Tug, but improvements in design and performance make this an all new Nordic Tug while still retaining the classic tugboat look and feel that adds to their allure and sea kindliness. All exterior decks are molded non-skid for easy maintenance. No continual varnishing or oiling here. Just regular wash downs is all that’s required.

A clever accommodations plan gets two large staterooms in 49 feet. Lazarette space and the engines room are huge.

She’s not quite a full walk around boat, there are narrow side decks along the salon, but this is common as line handling is the only reason for this area. There are grab rails to aid in the transit fore and aft until you get adjacent to the pilot house where side rails carry you to the bow.

Below the waterline, she boasts the feature that marks the typical cruiser… a full length keel that protects the underwater running gear. This is a great feature that seasoned boaters love to see, not only for the protection factor, but for more stable handling in a following sea, and more control when crosswind docking. This new 49 also features a tunneled hull which reduces her draft to 4’2”/1.3m. It also makes for a shallower shaft angle which in turn improves efficiency.

Internally…
With two full staterooms and two ensuite heads, she makes an ideal platform for a cruising couple and guests. Entering from the cockpit, you come into a salon that is warm and inviting.

Real teak, rather than artificial laminate, give a quality look that endures. Large windows allow for ample natural light. Note the full galley that almost extends full beam. Overhead are grab rails for operating in seaways.

Here wood is evident, and it’s not only a welcome sight, but in just the right amounts. The salon itself is carpeted, but the U-shaped galley area has a teak and holly sole. The galley’s nicely equipped with a full complement of features including a four burner stove, double stainless steel sink, and convection microwave. The salon itself is comfortable and features the now requisite flat screen on an electrically controlled lift system.

Pilothouse…
Stepping up the stairs on the starboard side of the salon, you enter the heart of the operation center. The pilothouse is very functional and high enough to provide sightlines to satisfy the demands of coastal cruising, with perhaps the exception of Florida and the Bahamas. For those captains, an optional flybridge can be added for giving a better vantage point for reading the ever changing waters of those latitudes. And typical of Nordic Tugs, the flybridge looks like an integral part of the boat, rather than an add-on feature.

The helm features a Stidd helm seat, and room for a vast array of electronics. Note the overhead panel for additional electronics. Diamond Sea Glaze sliding watertight doors are on either side of the pilothouse, and we love the teak window frames. Note the stairway to starboard for access to the staterooms.

Visibility aft is limited but there is another set of controls at the aft cockpit, so backing into tight quarters is a no-stress affair. Aft, there is a set of stairs that lead to the boat deck. This is a welcome sight. Both here, and at the cockpit access from the swim platform, you won’t see vertical ladders. These are stairs that are accessed in the traditional way, rather than having to face the ladder and climb up or down. Now you can walk normally, with your back to the stairs as you descend.

The pilothouse has a stairway leading to the boat deck. Note that it is not a ladder, but stairs that you can walk up and down. Check out the chart drawer under the settee table. Nordic Tug never forgets the basics and no one should depend fully on electronics. There’s a limited view of the stern but separate controls in the cockpit aid in backing into a slip.

Staterooms
The full beam master has an island berth and plenty of storage. The teak is oiled and gives the boat an old world yacht appearance that is welcome in this age of plastic fantastic laminates. The forward VIP stateroom has a fit and finish that matches the master and the guest head doubles as a day head, with secondary access at the bottom of the companionway.

Obviously a woman decorated this master stateroom, with pillows covering half the queen size bed. Note the drawers in front, to the sides, and underneath the bed. There’s also a vanity, flat screen TV and sound system. The finish is genuine teak, not laminate.

Performance…
While we didn’t get to test the Nordic Tug 49, past performance in other models has given them the reputation as solid coastal cruisers. In their 29 years of business, Nordic Tugs has reached almost cult status among the distance coastal cruiser set. What separates them from their trans-oceanic cousins is basically their lack of serious frozen and dry storage, watermakers, standard stabilizers, although they are on the options list, and the rounded bottom of a full displacement hull.

Nordic Tugs typically have a range in the 1000 mile/1609k at 8.9 knots, over 2,700 mile at 7 knots realm at single digit speeds, which clearly makes them notable contenders for coastal cruising. They are also semi-displacement boats so not only can they cruise comfortably in the single digits, seemingly forever, but are also capable of cruising in the teens for 350+ miles /563k days bounding from marina to marina while always enjoying docktails as the sun sets. Life just doesn’t get any better.

VIP stateroom in the bow.

Specifications…
The Nordic Tug 49 has a LOA of 58’8” /17.8 m and a beam of 16’1”/4.8m. Her LWL is 48’4”/14.7 m and she carries a draft of only 4’2”/1.3m thanks to her tunneled hull. The Nordic Tug’s standard power is a single 610-hp Cummins QSM 11 electronic diesel engine which gives her a displacement weight of 46,000 lbs./20,411 kg. She also carries 800 gal/3028 L of fuel and 300 gal/1136L of water. With two showers, a clothes washer, dishwasher, swim platform shower, galley sink and icemaker, that water supply will get used up quickly. But then again, this is a coastal cruiser and resupply is usually at the end of the day’s run, even if it is over the next horizon.

Conclusion…
With a base price of $950,000, we think that this boat will continue the cult status that Nordic Tugs enjoys. She represents a continuation of the growth that baby boomers have triggered for exploring new territories and cruising beyond the realm of the local marina or the nearby island. When it is time for you to leave your aquatic nest, and stretch your sea legs, it’s likely that a Nordic Tug will be the boat that takes you to the destination of your dreams.

Boat Specifications: 49 Nordic Tugs 2009