Sam Devlin boat "TugZilla"

N

NORO LIM

Member
Several times a week I walk to the waterfront a couple miles from my home. Local boat builder Sam Devlin uses moorage space at a marina/brokerage I pass on my usual route. Quite often there are 3 or 4 or his boats tied up. This morning a boat Sam designed and built for himself as a working tug was there. All his boats are works of art. I thought I'd share a picture or two of "TugZilla."

One of the things that often amused and puzzled me about strangers' comments upon seeing one of my C-Dorys (particularly the CD-16) was how often they would say "It looks like a little tugboat." I never argued with them, but this, my friends, IS a little tugboat:


TUGZILLA_Sam_Devlin_Boat_DSC07113.jpg
TUGZILLA_Sam_Devlin_Boat_P2180002.jpg
TUGZILLA_Sam_Devlin_Boat_DSC07116.jpg
 
OK Bill. You got it. That is a "Cute Boat" even if it is a tug.

I have seen a tug type, I believe a Lord Nelson Victory Tug that cruises up in the Broughtons several times. One year I got a chance to stop and chat with the owners. Yaaahooooo, They liked my boat too. They used to have a C-Dory, and did for several years. Sorry I can't remember their names, or the tug name, but they said they often chat with C-Dory owners, mutual boat admiration, I think they called it.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_CD_Cover_SlpyC_with_Classics_MBSP_2009_289.thumb.jpg
 
Thanks for the photos--always admired Devlin's boats. This is far more than Little: 10,600# displacement! Some heft to the"cuteness factor"!
 
I'm not saying it's a little boat. I'm saying it's a little tugboat. And by comparison (size, draft, displacement, power, hull design, over-all appearance - you name it) a C-Dory is definitely not a tugboat, little or otherwise. That's the thing that always puzzled me about people saying a C-Dory looks like a little tugboat. "TugZilla" looks like a little tugboat. It is one. Vintage tugboat races have been held annually here in Olympia since 1974 during the Olympia Harbor Days Maritime Festival. I guarantee you that "TugZilla" is way at the small end of tugboats.

Bill
 
Bill,
Not disputing that this is a very small tug boat. There are working tugs which are smaller, for example in the lumber industry. What I was referring to is the displacement; most of Devlin's boats are lighter weight. For example the closest to the C Dory 22 is the Surf Scooter 22, and displacement is slightly under 4,000# The Devlin Surf Scooter 26, is in the 5,500# displacement category, and very comparable to the C Dory 25/Venture 26. Perhaps I could have phrased my comment differently...:shock:

Apparently Devlin did not start the work on his TugZilla, but finished her out. A customer named "Tom" started when Devlin had just completed the drawings, got the hull and was partly thru, when he lost interest, and sold the uncompleted boat to Sam Devlin..article here

I suspect that people think that the C Dory looks similar to a tug because of the lines of the pilot house, especially the eyebrow which is present in many tugs..I don't think that any of the "recreational tugs" (Ranger, Nordic, American, etc) have much of the way of resemblance to a tug either.
 
Bob,
I certainly didn't take any offense at anything you or anyone else said! :)
I think you are probably right about why a C-Dory reminds some people of a tug. It may be you are on to something! Sam Devlin has a self-confessed life-long fascination with tugs, and many of his boats do have cabins with eyebrows. It's just that when I think of tugs - the way the look, sound, move through the water, and what they can and cannot do, it's about impossible for me to look at my boat and think "tug."

Anyway, all of that is neither here nor there. The real reason I posted the pictures is I love Sam Devlin's boats, and TugZilla is no exception. Although Sam is well-known for his smaller, lighter weight boats, he has designed some pretty hefty craft, including this one, the "Amak 44," which has a 69 inch draft and displaces 45,000 lbs.

Amak44Side_1080x616.sized.jpg
 
While in Lowe's parking lot in Melbourne Florida on our way back home with Tinker Toy, a couple stopped by to chat and his first words were "that looks like a tug boat"!

Another friend, who is a power boater with a 35' boat on Lake of the Ozarks, said the front end looked like it belonged on a sailboat.

At any rate, the looks of the C-Dory line stirs something within those who see it.

In many ways, it was the same way with our Seaward 25. Non-boaters thought it looked like the quintessential sailboat. Kids in passing cars would wave. Strangers in gas stations said "nice boat".

For me the final test is do I smile every time I see it.

For the record, I had a big grin on my face when I saw the "small tug" in this thread. It just looks right, regardless of size.

Waiting for warmer weather, currently in Denver where it is 27 degrees and lightly snowing.

Going to meet up with dgeorges to get info on how to fish the great lakes. It turns out he lives 7 minutes from my son's house.
 
thataway":tbscnfed said:
There are working tugs which are smaller, for example in the lumber industry.
Click to expand...
In North Bentick Arm, Bella Coola, BC
tugboat.sized.jpg
[/url]
 
I have always liked the look of "working boats" vs sleek, go-fasts. Even when I was a kid. Maybe it's from watching "Gilligan's Island". :lol: Everthing I'm drawn to looks like it could be a purse-seiner, or a gill-netter or a tug. Even in trawlers. Give me something "salty" vs something "sexy" anytime. this little tug fits the bill. The Admiral would call it "cute".

If I were a rich man:

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/devlin-sockeye-45-3597330/
 
localboy":28txlr4t said:
I have always liked the look of "working boats" vs sleek, go-fasts. Even when I was a kid. Maybe it's from watching "Gilligan's Island". :lol: Everthing I'm drawn to looks like it could be a purse-seiner, or a gill-netter or a tug. Even in trawlers. Give me something "salty" vs something "sexy" anytime. this little tug fits the bill. The Admiral would call it "cute".

If I were a rich man:

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/devlin-sockeye-45-3597330/
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. All of Sam Devlin's boats have a serious boat look about them. His forms are beautiful, to be sure, but only as an adjunct to the obvious functionality of his creations.

That Sockeye is a beaut! Like you say, "If I were a rich man . . ."
 
I was aboard one of his larger boats- probably the Sockeye 44--and the entire boat was a work of art. Looking at it, and even knowing it was a Devlin, I could not believe it was plywood. The outside was so fair and painted so well, with the rounded counter. I got a chance to talk to the "Man"--and he was most pleasant!
 
I am glad that somebody likes them and has them and takes care of them. Beautiful to behold, just glad I'm not the one holden 'em. (Wood and Work both have 4 letters)

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_CD_Cover_SlpyC_with_Classics_MBSP_2009_289.thumb.jpg
 
Harvey, I doubt that the boats that Devlin builds take any more work than a fiberglass boat. They have two layers of Dynel cloth set in resin and then are painted in 2 part LP paint. The interior hulls are epoxy coated.
 
Back
Top