American Tug 34 (Later the 365) Used Buyer's Guide

A forgotten fishboat mold in La Conner

The American Tug 34 began with a mold nobody was using. In the early 1980s the self-taught Seattle designer Lynn Senour drew a fast, load-carrying hull for the Alaska fishing fleet, with a waterline of almost 33 feet, a 13-foot 3-inch beam and a flat, sharp chine at the waterline to damp roll. When Tom Nelson, Mike Schoppert and Kurt Dilworth left the management team at Nordic Tugs in 1999 and formed Tomco Marine Group, Senour remembered the project, and the mold turned up in La Conner, Washington.

The three founders tooled up a deckhouse and interior to fit it, and PassageMaker reports the first American Tug 34 was launched in August 2000. Within four years the plant was launching a 34 every 15 working days, about 17 a year, and had made around 100 running changes. Anyone searching for an american tug 34 for sale today is buying into that lineage, and into a boat most owners bought for coastal cruising in comfort rather than for show.

The 34, the 365 and the 362 are one hull

Kurt Dilworth told PassageMaker in 2024 that the 34 became the 365, and that it was just a name change when American Tug started naming models by overall length. The builder's own 365 specifications list 36 feet 6 inches overall, a 13-foot 3-inch beam, a 3-foot 5-inch draft, 18,700 pounds dry, 400 gallons of fuel, 120 gallons of water and a 45-gallon holding tank. In 2020 American Tug added the 362, which uses exactly the same hull and deck as Hull No. 1 but has two staterooms, a 320 hp Volvo D4 and 230 gallons of fuel.

Counts vary. Dilworth called it the yard's most successful model with 165 hulls built by early 2024, while a 2017 PassageMaker article said the company would end up building more than 200 of the introductory model. For a buyer, the practical point is that a 2003 34 and a 2019 365 share their bones, but differ in engines, electronics, joinery details and the many small changes made along the way.

A right-hand helm and a galley built for real cooking

The layout is designed around a cruising couple. Boarding is usually via the swim platform and transom door, although most boats carry a dinghy on a platform davit that blocks the door until it is lowered slightly. The cockpit is a working space with a lazarette and a ladder to the sundeck rather than a lounge. Side decks are narrow and have no bulwarks, but heavy stainless grab rails run along the deckhouse.

Inside, an L-shaped galley wraps the starboard side and aft bulkhead with a corner sink, a stove with a view out the window and a refrigerator-freezer in the pilothouse back wall; boats spec'd for air conditioning got an electric stove, while boats with a diesel furnace got propane. To port an Ultraleather settee hides storage and opens into a double. A scooped overhead above the pilothouse steps doubles as a skylight in the vestigial stack.

The helm is to starboard with an adjustable seat, doors on both sides and a big chart drawer. The single prop is left-turning, so the boat backs to starboard, which lets the skipper see the dock from the helm side. Visibility is good even for short drivers, which Dilworth said was deliberate.

One stateroom, honestly a couple's boat

Forward and down from the pilothouse is a single stateroom with an island double, hanging locker and storage, and one head with a roomy stall shower and doors from both the stairway and the cabin. On the 365 the builder describes a walk-around queen and a 36 by 36-inch shower. The salon settee sleeps two more, so the boat realistically suits a couple with occasional guests or grandchildren. Families who need a second cabin should look at the 362 or a larger American Tug.

The finish is teak inside and no wood outside, which owners appreciate. Foam-backed vinyl headliner panels are held with hook-and-loop in places so wiring runs can be reached, and the sole is a vacuum-bagged sandwich of fiberglass and Nida-Core honeycomb with insulation that keeps cabin noise down.

Nine knots on four gallons an hour

Early boats had a 330 hp Cummins as standard and a 370 hp option, and later 365s use the Tier 3 Cummins QSB 6.7 rated at 380 hp. American Tug's own underway testing, published by PassageMaker, showed about 3.9 gph at 9 knots and 5.1 gph at 10 knots, against about 17 gph at 18 knots wide open with the 330. The builder quotes a 17-knot top speed for the 380 hp 365 and about 1,600 miles of range at hull speed from 400 gallons.

Noise figures from the company are useful for anyone coming from a sailboat: 67 dB(A) in the pilothouse at 9 knots, 73 at 10 knots and 79 at wide open throttle with the 370. Most owners settle at 9 or 10 knots and keep the speed in reserve for beating weather across open water.

The hull has been proven well beyond its design brief. In 2002 three new 34s, nicknamed the Rainbow Fleet, left La Conner for Alaska, ran down the West Coast to Mexico and Central America, transited the Panama Canal and reached Florida about a year later with roughly 9,600 miles on one of them. Its owner described 12-foot seas and 50-knot winds and a boat that kept tracking on autopilot.

Owning one now that the builder has gone quiet

The Kadey-Krogen Group bought American Tug's parent, Tomco Marine Group, in May 2023, when the yard had built about 250 boats. In July 2026 Kadey-Krogen was reported to be filing for Chapter 7 liquidation, Power and Motoryacht described it as out of production, and as of October 2026 the American Tug website displays only an archived or suspended notice. We could not confirm the status of the La Conner yard, so do not count on factory parts or warranty support without checking directly.

That matters less than it sounds for a 34. The engine is a mainstream Cummins, thrusters, generator and electronics are off-the-shelf brands, and the owner community is active. Budget about $18,000 to $35,000 a year for insurance, a 40-foot slip, haul-out and bottom paint, engine and generator service and fuel at trawler speeds.