Nordic Tug 26, the Little Tug That Started a Whole Category

The 1980 Seattle show and the birth of the pleasure tug

Search Nordic Tugs for sale and the 26 is the boat that explains the whole brand. In the late 1970s Jerry Husted ran Blue Water Boats in Woodinville, Washington, building Ingrid double-ended ketches, and worried that the oil crisis would kill demand for thirsty powerboats. Over lunches with designer Lynn Senour he landed on the idea: a tugboat looks right going slow. Nordic Tugs Inc. was formed in 1979 by Husted, his brother Jim and partner Gail Davis.

The Nordic Tug 26 prototype appeared at the 1980 Seattle International Boat Show at an introductory price of $29,995 with a $1,000 refundable deposit. The company's own history says 37 were sold at the show, one every three hours, and 54 by the end of that month. A year later Sundowner Tugs and Lord Nelson Tugs showed their own pleasure tugs, and a category was born.

Nordic built two versions of the original 26: the cruising model, first named Red Apple, and the Cricket, a short cabin, open aft deck version used mainly for fishing. In the early years roughly half were sold as workboats; the last workboat 26 went to Pacific Gas and Electric in 1992 to ferry crews across San Francisco Bay.

Lynn Senour's hull, hard chines and a full keel

Senour agreed to join the project on condition that he could do what he wanted below the waterline. He drew a semi-displacement hull with hard chines for stability at speed and at anchor, and a full keel that helps tracking and shields the propeller and rudder. Above it went a 1930s tug profile, an upright wheelhouse with large windows, a sliding door beside the helm and, just for fun, a smokestack.

That hull became the foundation of every Nordic Tug for nearly three decades; Soundings noted in 2007 that the company had essentially been building the same hull form since its debut. Senour died in 2004 at 89, after also designing for American Tug, and his lines are a big part of why the 26 still runs well.

Half a gallon an hour, and other fuel claims

Fuel economy was the whole point. Nordic Tugs' company history credits the original boat with half a gallon per hour at 6.5 knots, while Soundings, describing the original with its single 110 hp diesel, put consumption at less than 2 gph at a 7 knot cruise. Power and Motoryacht reported that the relaunched boat's 110 hp Yanmar burned less than a gallon an hour at 6 knots.

The spread tells you how sensitive a small semi-displacement hull is to speed. Keep it near 6 to 7 knots and the 26 sips fuel; push it toward planing speeds and consumption climbs fast. The builder's current figure is a range of about 260 nautical miles at 8 knots, from 100 gallons.

Living aboard 26 feet of tug

The original layout put the galley and dinette in the main cabin, with a two burner stove, refrigerator and sink, and a dinette that converts to an extra berth. The private cabin and berths are down forward. Options over the years included a bow thruster, inverter and generator.

The relaunched boats keep that formula. Nordic's 2011 spec lists sleeping for four including the dinette, one head, 40 gallons of fresh water and a 20 gallon holding tank, with gray water discharged overboard. In January 2011 the company showed the 26cr at the Seattle show with an extensively modified interior while keeping the classic look. Headroom and storage are what you would expect on a 9 ft 6 in beam, so this is a couples' weekend and coastal cruiser rather than a full-time liveaboard.

Retired in 1997, back in 2009

As demand shifted to larger boats, Nordic retired the 26 in 1997 after 174 hulls, according to Soundings. The company had added the 32 in 1985, then 37 and 42 footers in the 1990s and a 52 in 2003, and the 26 seemed to have served its purpose.

It had a near-cult following, though. In early 2009 Soundings reported a redesigned 26 would return at that year's Seattle show, and Nordic described it as a limited production model. Power and Motoryacht showed it again at the 2015 Fort Lauderdale show as back by popular demand. Nordic Tugs still lists the NT26 on its current model page in Burlington, Washington, alongside the NT34, NT40, NT44, NT50 and NT54.

The current spec sheet in plain numbers

Nordic's current NT26 page lists 28 ft 9 in overall, 25 ft 2 in on the waterline, a 9 ft 6 in beam, 3 ft 1 in draft, 8,500 lb dry weight, a 110 hp Volvo as standard power, 100 gallons of fuel, 40 of water and 20 of black water, sleeping four with one head. The 2011 sheet and Power and Motoryacht's 2015 listing gave 3 ft 3 in of draft, 9,468 lb loaded and, in 2011, a 75 gallon tank, so check the actual boat rather than trusting a generic listing.

• Length overall 28 ft 9 in, waterline 25 ft 2 in
• Beam 9 ft 6 in, draft about 3 ft 1 in to 3 ft 3 in
• Single diesel of 110 to 150 hp depending on year
• Fuel 100 gallons on current boats, 75 gallons in 2011

Original hull or relaunch boat, and what each costs

An original 1980s or 1990s 26 can be a bargain cruiser if the engine, fuel tank and wiring have been renewed. We estimate those boats between about $30,000 and $80,000 in 2026, with refit quality mattering far more than year. Relaunched boats from 2009 onward are effectively a different purchase, closer to $120,000 to $220,000 used. A new NT26 is a dealer quote; extrapolating the 2015 base suggests roughly $250,000 to $320,000.

Annual costs are modest: roughly $5,000 to $12,000 for a slip or trailer storage, insurance, engine service and bottom paint.