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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers

Nordic Tug 37

The published record on this model and what owners report, with the questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page covers the model. Every boat still needs its own homework.

The published record

Length overall39.17 ft
Beam12.92 ft

Source: Nordic Tugs 37 spec sheet (2002), matching HMY powerboat guide. If a listing disagrees with these numbers, the listing may still be right. Settle the difference before it costs you.

A single-Cummins semi-displacement tug on a full, prop-protecting keel, with about 12 feet to the top and 4 feet of draft. Check the engine history first.

The Nordic Tug 37 is a single-engine semi-displacement tug built from 1998 and sold as the 39 from 2013 to 2015. HMY counts over 200 built. She rides on a solid fiberglass hull with a full keel that protects the prop. The builder's 2002 sheet gives 39'2" overall, a 12'11" beam, 48" of draft, 12'2" from the waterline to the top with a removable stack, and a 330hp Cummins 6BTA. HMY lists 12'4" of clearance, 4'4" of draft and a 320-gallon tank against the sheet's 370; a 50-gallon optional tank may explain the gap, so confirm this hull's tanks. A flybridge was optional from 2004 and stands taller. At trawler speed she's frugal: a Mad Mariner sea trial measured 2.4 gph at 8.7 knots on the 380-hp Cummins, and a 2004 listing gives 2.2 gph at 8.2 knots on the 330.

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On video

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How to read the tags on this page. FACTdocumented, with the source named CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed QUESTIONopen, and settled by looking at the boat itself CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used Sources are linked where published.

Overview

CLAIM
Built 1998 to 2012 as the 37, then sold as the 39 until 2015 HMY's guide says over 200 were built, on a solid fiberglass semi-displacement hull with a full keel that protects the prop. Listings for 2013 to 2015 boats may say 39. src: HMY powerboat guide

Docking & Locking

CONTEXT
Narrow aft side deck offset by pilot house doors on both sides An owner reports this model has a very narrow side deck aft, but that doors on both sides of the pilot house made docking and locking manageable with two aboard: the mate works aft while the helmsman steps out to handle a forward/bow/spring line. This owner reported it worked fine over a large number of locks and docking evolutions. Confirm the door and deck layout on the specific hull. src: Forum thread
Your move: Walk the boat and confirm whether pilot house doors and handrails allow safe fore/aft line handling without full side decks.

Air draft

CLAIM
12'2" to the top on the builder's 2002 sheet; HMY lists 12'4" The 2002 sheet gives 12'2" from the waterline to the top and lists a removable stack. A flybridge became optional in 2004, and radar and antennas add height, so a given boat can stand well above the published figure. src: Nordic Tugs 37 spec sheet (2002); HMY powerboat guide
Your move: Measure this boat with everything up, and ask whether she has the flybridge.

Draft

CLAIM
About 4 feet of draft: 48" on the 2002 sheet, 4'4" in HMY That's under the 5-foot limit the Loop is usually planned around, so draft isn't a gate problem for this model. The full keel protects the prop if she touches. src: Nordic Tugs 37 spec sheet (2002); HMY powerboat guide

Fuel & range

QUESTION
Does this boat have the optional 50-gallon fuel tank? Published tank figures split. The builder's 2002 sheet lists 370 gallons; HMY and a 2004 listing give 320, and a Mad Mariner sea trial says 324. A 2007 listing describes a factory-installed 50-gallon extra tank, 375 gallons in all. Our reading, which the builder hasn't confirmed: a standard tank of about 320 to 325 gallons, and about 370 to 375 with the option. Water and holding split too: 150 and 40 on the 2002 sheet, 144 and 32 in HMY. Ask which tanks this boat has, and check the owner's fill-up records. src: Nordic Tugs 37 spec sheet (2002); HMY powerboat guide
Your move: Ask whether the 50-gallon extra fuel tank is fitted, and for fill-up records.
FACT
Mad Mariner's sea trial: 2.4 gph at 8.7 knots on the 380-hp Cummins On a sea trial with the single 380-hp Cummins QSB 5.9, the boat's own engine data read 2.4 gallons per hour at 8.7 knots and 1,600 rpm, and 19.4 gph at nearly 18 knots flat out. The same article gives the tank as 324 gallons. One engine, so that's the whole boat's burn. src: Mad Mariner Magazine sea trial (Tom Tripp), reprinted by Denison Yacht Sales
CLAIM
A 2004 listing: 2.2 gph at 8.2 knots on the 330-hp Cummins A broker listing for a 2004 boat with the 330-hp Cummins 6BTA gives 2.2 gallons per hour at 8.2 knots (1,400 rpm) and 2 gph at an even 8 knots, and lists a 320-gallon tank. It's listing copy, so treat it as the seller's figure. The same listing's spec block gives a lower cruise and top speed than its text does. src: 2004 Nordic Tug 37 broker listing (Seattle Yachts, on Denison Yacht Sales)
CLAIM
An owner: just under 4 NM/gal at 7 to 7.5 knots An NT37 owner reports running Poulsbo to Ketchikan without refueling at 7 to 7.5 knots, at just under 4 nautical miles per gallon. Engine not stated. With the two figures above, that puts this model at roughly 2 to 2.4 gph in the 8-knot range. src: NT37 owner on TugNuts (Dec 2021)
CLAIM
A 2007 listing: factory 50-gallon extra tank, 375 gallons total A broker listing for a 2007 boat with the 380-hp Cummins QSB describes a factory-installed 50-gallon extra fuel tank, 375 gallons in all, and claims 700 nautical miles of range at cruise without naming the speed. It's the listing that makes the optional-tank reading above plausible. src: 2007 Nordic Tug 37 broker listing (Nest Seekers)
CLAIM
One owner's long-run average: 3.75 NM/gal at 7 knots A 2002 Nordic Tug 37 owner with the 330-hp Cummins 6BTA reports cruising at 7 knots at 1,300 rpm, about 28,000 lb loaded, and averaging 3.75 nautical miles per gallon over 11 summers and 41,500 nautical miles. src: Trawler Forum, 'Fuel use, NMPG, Personal experience from Members' thread, post #17 (Oct 2026)

Layout

CLAIM
Two staterooms, or from 2003 one large one The original layout has two staterooms forward, an island berth and over/under bunks. From 2003 a single-stateroom layout enlarged the master and the shower. The salon is open to both the pilothouse and the cockpit. src: HMY powerboat guide

Engines

The engines research is part of the full profile inside the product. It covers factory options, tested performance and the engine-specific questions in our members' dossiers, and it travels with every dossier and survey brief built on this model.

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