Can someone help

[Timleech]

Can someone please help and stop us drooling at tug boats......

 

This is the latest in a long line to catch the eye

 

http://remote.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=183240&g=2&b=0&n=0&i=244&l=2&s=value

This is about the same size and IMO much nicer looking and more useable as a pleasure boat.

Rather more money, though.

 

Tim

[NB Willawaw]

Yes it is an RT143.

 

I already have an RT144.

 

http://nbwillawaw.blogspot.com/2010/01/all-nice-boys-love-sailor.html

 

ETA I have a source of spares.

 

The old Sailor RT144C VHFs are brilliant, though it's hard to get spares now. Luckily we found a man in Amsterdam to sort ours and adapt it for ATIS a couple of weeks ago. You can still find them in reasonable condition on occasion.

 

(Looked again at the ad and it seems to be an RT143 on there)

Edited October 22, 2011 by NB Willawaw

[Tam & Di]

This is about the same size and IMO much nicer looking and more useable as a pleasure boat.

Rather more money, though.

 

Tim

 

It seems to come with a lot of books on the book shelf too I'm not sure what the pair of lights on the back of the wheelbox are - one looks to be red, but they also look well mounted in that position? It seems to have a port side light where it should be already.

 

Remarkably small fuel and especially water tanks - it would need a bit of work for extensive continental cruising. I agree it looks good though.

Edited October 22, 2011 by Tam & Di

[Timleech]

It seems to come with a lot of books on the book shelf too I'm not sure what the pair of lights on the back of the wheelbox are - one looks to be red, but they also look well mounted in that position? It seems to have a port side light where it should be already.

 

Remarkably small fuel and especially water tanks - it would need a bit of work for extensive continental cruising. I agree it looks good though.

 

They both look like stern lights, I don't understand that either.

The accommodation looks suitable for weekending rather than lengthy trips. I don't see 450 l of diesel as particularly small for a boat that size, it shouldn't use a lot when pottering around rather than towing. I agree the water tank is small, but it's amazing what you can manage with if you need to! At the moment we just rely on 5l plastic containers on our little tug

 

Tim

[sebrof]

I really can't see the point in a tug. Hardly any accommodation and a much bigger and thirstier engine than you will ever need.

 

They look pretty, which of course is important, but that's it.

[Timleech]

I really can't see the point in a tug. Hardly any accommodation and a much bigger and thirstier engine than you will ever need.

 

They look pretty, which of course is important, but that's it.

 

No less point than an unconverted Working Boat, and the license is potentially cheaper

 

Edit - plus you don't have 50' of empty boat to maintain

 

Tim

Edited October 22, 2011 by Timleech

[bargemast]

They both look like stern lights, I don't understand that either.

The accommodation looks suitable for weekending rather than lengthy trips. I don't see 450 l of diesel as particularly small for a boat that size, it shouldn't use a lot when pottering around rather than towing. I agree the water tank is small, but it's amazing what you can manage with if you need to! At the moment we just rely on 5l plastic containers on our little tug

 

Tim

 

 

Those lights are perfectly normal for a tug, 1 of the lights is an ordinary white sternlight, and the 2nd is a yellow sternlight for when the tug is on towing duty.

 

Peter.

[Tam & Di]

Those lights are perfectly normal for a tug, 1 of the lights is an ordinary white sternlight, and the 2nd is a yellow sternlight for when the tug is on towing duty.

 

It's correct that it would have a yellow stern light when it's towing - it is just that the lens looks to be red. Probably my eyesight. Looking at one of the other photos it does still have two masthead lights.

 

It was probably used for local towage work where it could be refuelled and provisioned daily. It's not so easy to get fuel every couple of kilometers here unless you go with a container to a supermarket. But although it is 110 hp it is quite a small boat so Tim is right - it shouldn't be too thirsty. I average about 1 gallon (4.5 ltrs) p.h. but we are 80 dwt and usage includes central heating in the winter.

Edited October 22, 2011 by Tam & Di

[Timleech]

Those lights are perfectly normal for a tug, 1 of the lights is an ordinary white sternlight, and the 2nd is a yellow sternlight for when the tug is on towing duty.

 

Peter.

 

Are these special rules for continental inland waters? It's not something I had come across before.

 

It's correct that it would have a yellow stern light when it's towing - it is just that the lens looks to be red. Probably my eyesight. Looking at one of the other photos it does still have two masthead lights.

 

It was probably used for local towage work where it could be refuelled and provisioned daily. It's not so easy to get fuel every couple of kilometers here unless you go with a container to a supermarket. But although it is 110 hp it is quite a small boat so Tim is right - it shouldn't be too thirsty. I average about 1 gallon (4.5 ltrs) p.h. but we are 80 dwt and usage includes central heating in the winter.

 

My little tug, about the same size and built for the non-tidal Thames, has 2 x 40 gallon fuel tanks from new. I'm certainlly not topping up the tanks every five minutes! Using a big engine at low power will be inefficient, but the difference in consumption between that and using a smaller engine for the same power won't be huge. Also the big prop on the big engine should be more efficient.

 

Tim

Edited October 22, 2011 by Timleech

[bargemast]

It's correct that it would have a yellow stern light when it's towing - it is just that the lens looks to be red. Probably my eyesight. Looking at one of the other photos it does still have two masthead lights.

 

It was probably used for local towage work where it could be refuelled and provisioned daily. It's not so easy to get fuel every couple of kilometers here unless you go with a container to a supermarket. But although it is 110 hp it is quite a small boat so Tim is right - it shouldn't be too thirsty. I average about 1 gallon (4.5 ltrs) p.h. but we are 80 dwt and usage includes central heating in the winter.

 

 

My eyesight is not all that good anymore as I can't see that red in one of the lenses.

 

Little tugs like that, often assisted by dredging works, and were also quite often towing trains of 2 to 5 flat decked barges (dekschuiten) around Amsterdam.

 

They normally never did any long distance work, and the crew didn't live onboard, also refuelling in Holland has never been a problem for working boats, with bunkerboats and bunkerbarges everywhere.

 

In my younger years I used to assist a bargee friend, who was always working on his own inside the Netherlands, when he had a cargo for Germany, it was a beautifully shaped Klipperbarge 32m x 6m and only 211Ton, built in 1884 that had one of these 116 Hp Deutz engines with a Reijntjes gearbox, upstream laden on the Rhine we needed an average of 20Ltr/h, which was reduced to about half that amount on the canals.

 

On the little tugboat for relaxed pleasure use on the canals, I'm sure it would be very much more economical, with a smooth underwater ship, and little draft, running maybe just at fast idle.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[sebrof]

No less point than an unconverted Working Boat, and the license is potentially cheaper

 

Edit - plus you don't have 50' of empty boat to maintain

 

Tim

 

Indeed, but it's a toy rather than something practical, and you can't be in two boats at once.

 

I speak, of course, as a live-aboard, and to me space is very important.

[bargemast]

 

Are these special rules for continental inland waters? It's not something I had come across before.

 

My little tug, about the same size and built for the non-tidal Thames, has 2 x 40 gallon fuel tanks from new. I'm certainlly not topping up the tanks every five minutes! Using a big engine at low power will be inefficient, but the difference in consumption between that and using a smaller engine for the same power won't be huge. Also the big prop on the big engine should be more efficient.

 

Tim

 

 

Hello Tim,

 

I'm sorry to say that I can't answer your question, as I'm not familiar with the rules in the U.K.

 

So it could be something specific to the continental inland waters.

 

 

If the engine in a small tug is a nice old slow running (like max 300n) it would be a shame to replace is with a sewing machine type engine, as long as you have a possibility to occasionally make her work hard, just to avoid the bores glazing.

 

Peter.

[Hairy-Neil]

That looks a lovely little tug. You should buy it Phyllis and then you can tow us back up to Shardlow

 

[Timleech]

Hello Tim,

 

I'm sorry to say that I can't answer your question, as I'm not familiar with the rules in the U.K.

 

So it could be something specific to the continental inland waters.

 

 

If the engine in a small tug is a nice old slow running (like max 300n) it would be a shame to replace is with a sewing machine type engine, as long as you have a possibility to occasionally make her work hard, just to avoid the bores glazing.

 

Peter.

 

The International rules require a (yellow) towing light vertically above the (white) stern light, that's what had me confused.

 

I'm not familiar with the various Deutz engines, is the one in this tug likely to fit that description?

 

My tug has a 1960s engine, a Kelvin R6, which was smoking very badly when I got it. A couple of trips across the Mersey & up the Ship Canal have made it tons better

The original was a slow-running 2-stroke Gardner, unfortunately long gone, so I have no attachment to the Kelvin even though it is a nice engine and fits the boat well.

 

Tim

[bargemast]

The International rules require a (yellow) towing light vertically above the (white) stern light, that's what had me confused.

 

I'm not familiar with the various Deutz engines, is the one in this tug likely to fit that description?

 

My tug has a 1960s engine, a Kelvin R6, which was smoking very badly when I got it. A couple of trips across the Mersey & up the Ship Canal have made it tons better

The original was a slow-running 2-stroke Gardner, unfortunately long gone, so I have no attachment to the Kelvin even though it is a nice engine and fits the boat well.

 

Tim

 

 

This 116hp Deutz engine in the tug, is exactly the same as the one my friend had in his Klipper (post #35) their full name was : Klöckner Deutz, type SAM 517, they delivered 116hp @1350n, and were very strong and reliable engines that were almost always installed with a Reijntjes gearbox.

 

Peter.

[Dalesman]

This might well be a better vessel, but not cheap.

tug

[Timleech]

This might well be a better vessel, but not cheap.

tug

 

It's been for sale for a while. No hull dimensions in the ad, it won't be very good as a canal cruiser!

Price seems superficially reasonable, but maintenance costs can be very high when you get to that sort of size.

 

Tim

[Phil Ambrose]

Come over to the"Dark Side" - you know you want to......................................

 

Yeah do it, do it, do it. I did and lived, go on you know it makes sense

 

Phil

[WotEver]

It's been for sale for a while. No hull dimensions in the ad, it won't be very good as a canal cruiser!

I was intrigued by "ready for immediate commercial activity". What commercial activity could you use it for apart from smuggling?

 

Tony

[Dalesman]

I was intrigued by "ready for immediate commercial activity". What commercial activity could you use it for apart from smuggling?

 

Tony

Towing perhaps..?

[Naughty Cal]

I really can't see the point in a tug. Hardly any accommodation and a much bigger and thirstier engine than you will ever need.

 

They look pretty, which of course is important, but that's it.

 

I personally dont see the point in the many hundreds of clonecraft that all look pretty much the same. But each to their own.

 

How many gph would that little one be using whilst doing those gymnastics?

 

Tony

 

Many

[~ HD ~]

tug Riena .. ( recent-ish listing ) built 1930

http://www.apolloduck.nl/feature.phtml?id=227948

( 13m length .. draft not mentioned )

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TUGBOAT HEKTOR ex RHD 11

http://www.apolloduck.nl/feature.phtml?id=190934

former inspection vessel of the Dutch waterway authorities which is also equipped for towing

Dimensions : 17,44 x 3,60 x 1,90 m .. Constr. year : 1938 ..

 

 

~~~~~

saw "Riena" .. 'n thought of this thread :-)

[JDR]

tug Riena .. ( recent-ish listing ) built 1930

http://www.apolloduck.nl/feature.phtml?id=227948

( 13m length .. draft not mentioned )

 

 

If I sold my boat I could afford that! What's the catch? How can something that beautiful be so cheap.