14' Tug Yacht

What one of us has not indulged in daydreams of being captain of a powerful tugboat, bustling about the business of towing and ship handling? Herein is presented a means to fulfill those dreams for those still young at heart and of spirit.

This husky little workboat will make a handsome tug for use in moving boats, docks and floats at marinas and yacht clubs. As a race committee boat, yacht club tender or for towing logs, she offers promise in satisfying a number of requirements. She'll also be a fun boat to go camp-cruising and day-fishing in for the yachtsman who enjoys just "messing around with boats".

For the man wanting to try out some differing construction techniques, but not wanting to get in over his head, this 14-footer will provide just the right amount of work for a "taste" of what boatbuilding is all about.

The 14' Tug Yacht will also make a sturdy transportation boat around marinas and yacht harbors, for if the Coast Guard allowed it, she'd take up to ten average-sized people aboard before her decks began to feel water coming in through the scuppers! The bulwarks being eighteen to thirty-three inches high, they give those aboard a feeling of being securely inside the vessel, rather than perched atop her, as is usually so common with small craft. The pilot-house again defies the imagination, allowing headroom of 6' 5"!

Depending upon the engine used, the 14' Tug Yacht will prove quite adept at moving and towing and most practical for maneuvering objects into tight corners, where larger vessels couldn't fit.

Having a displacement similar to much larger planing boats, she will provide close to the same proportion of work in building the hull as they would, while the work in out-fitting will be much simplified. Her cost in materials will prove proportionately less, also fitting in with the first builder's "try-out" budget. The inboard engine, if purchased new, will be the largest single expense. The conscientious buyer can find used and rebuilt engines at more attractive costs.

Bullhead - 14' Trawler Yacht

In response to escalating moorage rates, as well as high costs of fuel and maintenance for large cruisers these days, we have come up with a serious little packet who snubs her nose at such nonsense. Dubbed the Bullhead, she offers many at-home creature comforts. Such as 6'-5" standing headroom in her pilothouse (with comfortable sitting headroom fore and aft.) Such as a head (with skylight over.) Such as a pilot-seat for two, a stove, an icebox, a sink, and an extension double berth. And all this in fourteen feet!

You've heard of compact cars? Well, we thought it high time that someone came up with the economical compact boat. Measuring fourteen feet overall (thirteen feet on her waterline), with her beam half her overall length, this pocket cruiser has a draft of three feet. She displaces 3,675 pounds, and sports a displacement - length ratio of 747. (!) With a flank speed of 5 knots, she requires about 5 to 7 horsepower, and burns about one quart of diesel fuel per hour. Just try that with any typical gin palace!

As our design shows, she has sliding doors port and starboard, with a surprising amount of stowage space in the way of outboard shelves along the starboard midships area, and also aft to port. The head is in the foc'sle, and can be made private by hanging a drop curtain aft of it, between the steering console and the starboard shelf. Ventilation in the head is a natural with the overhead skylight - hatch...which also makes standing up in the area a simpler affair. When the head is not in use, the hatch is handy for poking one's head out to tend dock lines, or to drop anchor without going above decks in nasty weather.

The pilot-seat is over the engine amidships, and the large windows and ports afford great visibility at the helm, as do the convenient sliding doors (which are also large windows) on each side of the pilothouse. The icebox and stove are situated to port and starboard respectively, with a woodbin aft, convenient to the stove. A sink is planned to be installed just aft of the icebox. The crew can sit comfortably on the great cabin's four and a half foot wide settee, and feel cheerfully lit by the surrounding ports and overhead skylight. Extending the settee to a full-size, double bed (6'-8" long) at night, the crew can then gaze through the skylight at the stars overhead. And just think ... they won't even have to get up out of bed to have that morning cup of hot coffee, for the stove is right at hand!

Maneuvering this little rascal is sweet indeed. We had the good fortune to take a short spin aboard one of Bullhead's sisters, a 14' Tug, which one of our clients built and cruises on Cayuga Lake, in upstate New York. She literally turns like a top, and charges right along with little effort and negligible wake, looking very businesslike.

How did we create her, you may ask? Well, we were sitting around the drawing board one weekend last spring, shortly after toying with some sketches for a marvelous 20' Lake Union Dreamboat style pocket cruiser. As we were then the proud owners of one of our 14' Tugboat hulls, the question was asked, "Why couldn't we do something similar to the Lake Union Dreamboat to our 14-footer?" With little more conversation, pencil was set to paper, and the drawings here are the result....

Particulars:		Imperial	Metric
Length overall		14'-0"	4.27 m
Length designed waterline		13'-0"	3.96 m
Beam		7'-0"	2.13 m
Draft		3'-0"	0.91 m
Freeboard:	Forward	3'-6"	1.07 m
	Least	2'-0"	0.61 m
	Aft	2'-4¼"	0.72 m
Displacement, cruising trim		3,675 lbs.	1,667kg.
Displacement-length ratio		747	386 kg.
Ballast		850 lbs.
Ballast ratio		23%
Prismatic coefficient		.56
Pounds per inch immersion		310	55 kg./cm
Fuel tankage		17 Gals.	64 liters
Headroom		6'-5"	1.96 m

Grivit -- 14' Tug-Cruiser

People who've owned both large and small boats will probably agree that they had more fun and got more use out of the little ones. The little ones are easier to get underway quickly and can be operated without having to depend on having several crewmembers along to help handle the heavier gear on the larger boats.

Grivit, the 14' Tug-Cruiser, fits this little boat description. She's fun to look at, fun to be aboard, and fun to own. She's the third version designed on this hull.

The first was a working yard tug, with the deck aft of the pilothouse clear except for a towing bitt. The second was a pocket trawler yacht, with the afterdeck covered by a cabin with cozy accommodations for two. A very friendly two, that is.

Grivit, the third version, was designed for Gene and Fran Coan. They use her on Lake Washington, visiting friends and various waterfront restaurants in the Seattle area. Kept on a mooring in front of their place most of the year, they have the pleasure of looking at her daily, even if they aren't using her.

Grivit was outfitted to the Coans' wishes by Howard Cain at his shop in Seattle. They made extensive use of cedar, teak, and bronze. There's good headroom (6' 4") in the pilothouse, and comfortable sitting headroom in the after house.

A word of caution here: Anyone aspiring to own a spiffy pocket yacht such as Grivit had better enjoy talking to people - you'll be besieged with questioners everywhere you go. Or, of course, you could anchor out for peace and privacy....