Welcome to Tuffy The Tug. Tuffy is a 1981, 26 foot hull number 011 Nordic Tug, named after the children's book, Tuffy The Tugboat. Tuffy lives in Dana Point, CA but spends a fair amount of time at Catalina Island. She has a 100 hp Yanmar diesel that pushes along at 9 to 10 knots. Properly named for a tuff little boat that can plow through most sea conditions and has plenty of room to feel right at home. We love this boat.

Since arriving in Southern California, Tuffy has been going through a lot of upgrades. She has a shower on the back deck now to rinse dive gear. She has a custom wood inlay new dining table, new galley and head faucets along with a water pump system. She also has a fresh water head (not so smelly!). All of the work done is done by Michael. He's one talented husband (Cynde 🙂

The helm prior to refit/remodel. All gauges were moved beside the helm seat or on the helm, depending on their function. It's much easier to reach the important running/helm gauges now on the helm, and the other switches for interior lights, batteries, etc., is now more convenient on the side of the helm seat where they are easily accessible without reaching under the captain!

We finally decided to upgrade Tuffy from 39 hp to 100 hp. We found a good rebuilt 100 hp Yanmar and sold the 39 hp Yanmar. The old engine fit through the pilothouse door with the use of the articulating crane at Balboa Shipyard in Newport Beach. The crane and crew were awesome. We couldn’t have done it without them. The new engine in place, again with the help of Balboa Shipyard,s articulating crane. I had to remove two engine mounts and the fuel filter to squeeze it through the door.

I spent a lot of time measuring and remeasuring and it all paid off when I dropped the engine in and had less then a ¼” of adjustment necessary to align to the shaft. I drilled new holes for the new engine support brackets. The wood in the stringers is bone dry. That is one well built boat.

And back to South Coast Shipyard in Newport Beach to have the thru-hull’s installed and new bottom paint. The exhaust pipe was moved form the starboard to port. Can’t even tell there was a hole on the starboard side. New prop from Minney’s Yacht Surplus in Costa Mesa. I can’t say enough nice things about Minney’s. They saved me a lot of money. I am very happy with the quality and how quickly South Coast Shipyard got Tuffy in and out. Tuffy’s first trip to Catalina went great. She now cruises about 9 knots and tops out at 11 knots. I could probably get a little more out of her by adjusting the prop size but we are very happy how she turned out. Go Tuffy!!