The Travels of Tug 44 |
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Erie Canal More to come ... |
of travels on the Erie Canal, the Champlain Canal and the Hudson River
Tug 44 is a 34' American Tug, the world's best pilothouse trawler. She was the 44th one built by Tomco Marine Group of LaConner, Washington. She is a "fast" trawler, able to cruise at 18+ knots (20+ mph) fully loaded, and sleeps 4 comfortably. There is a 5kw (41 amps) Onan generator and central air and heat, a very nice kitchen, queen-sized stateroom and a Cummins 370B turbo diesel. Early versions of this boat were built as commercial fishing tugs, used to tow nets in Alaska waters. The fishing versions lacked the rear cabin and were configured like a pickup truck with a large open area in the back for the net spool & winch, and room to transport the catch back to the mother ship. An airplane spotter would report the location of a school of herring and the first boat to arrive would throw a net around the school and haul it in. The 2nd boat to arrive would get the left-overs, hence the need for the large engine. Later, the pleasure boat version was built, and greatly outsold the fishing tugs, so the commercial version was abandoned. That same original mold used to lay up the fiberglass hulls for the fishing tugs, was also used to build Tug 44. Her commercial tug hull is extremely tough, as the crew of her sister ship discovered after a 15 knot crash stop onto the rocks with no damage. Tug 44 was built and delivered in June 2003, and has cruised mostly on the Hudson River and the New York Canal System including the Erie Canal and Champlain Canal. The Tug 44 website offers a photographic cruise log of the Travels of Tug 44 on the Erie Canal, Champlain Canal and the Hudson River, including pictures of towns, locks, lighthouses, historical structures and other points of interest on the New York Canal System and rivers.
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Tug 44 Home Page