Rescue Tugboat

The Boat

This tugboat was built by Ralph Kanko from a 1979 all-wood 24 inch Dumas Shelly Foss kit.   Construction started in December, 2008, and slowly progressed over the next 11 months to the primed state.  Very little work was done from 2010 until 2015.  Then it was time to complete the boat and use it for its intended purpose: to retrieve sailboats from the pond.  The tugboat was launched for the first time at Delco Park on August 1, 2015.  The stock detail castings, stack, and radio mast were not installed, because they could snag sailboat sheets and booms.  This was built as a working boat, not as a scale model...at least at this time.  The bow thruster is necessary to maneuver the tugboat to the correct position for towing, and enables the tugboat to do a 360 in its own length.

Equipment

Detail Photos

Kit box (coming soon)	Bottom sheeting	Last hull panel
Special clamps for bottom sheeting	Rudder Post Installation Jig	Inside Hull
Ready for paint	Twin screws and Kort nozzles	Weed & rock shield
Equipment, aft	Equipment, forward	Line release, pump switch, receiver, air exit
Cooling fan, two speed/off switch	Baffled air inlet in wheel house	RC Car tire bumper
Line Release	Wheel weights from Harbor Freight, have good sticky backs and curvature that fits the hull. Easy way to add ballast in the right places. There are 34 of these in the tug.	Maiden Voyage Aug 1, 2015

Bilge Pump

Bilge pump was made from a Hobbico electric fuel pump.  The case and excess structure were removed.  Have a circuit kit for automatic water sensing and switching, but has not been built.  Bilge pump has not be tested on the pond because after at least a dozen voyages, no water was found in the bilge.

Bilge Pump stock

Bilge Pump stripped (2.3 oz)

Bilge Pump installed

Tugboat Duties

• SAILBOAT RESCUE.  Tugboat has little arms that can hook a shroud and drag the boat in--works good.  The black bumper strip around the tugboat also seems to stick to the boat enough to nurse it to shore.  Pushing from the back does not work; it is too hard to keep it behind the sailboat.  A line can be attached to the release post and dragged out to a sailboat whose mast is down.  Line from shore insures both boats can be retrieved if the sailboat's rigging fouls the tugboat propellers.

Arms to catch the sailboat shroud

Navigate around damasted boat with line attached to fishing reel on shore.

Pull the sailboat in.

• MARK SETTING.  We attach the marker line to the towing post release and drag the marker out.  Release of the line causes the line weight to slide down the line to the bottom.  This works very good.
• FISHING.  It was used to pull a fishing line out to the middle of the pond for a fisherman.
• 2015 Summer Season: 8 successful sailboat rescues.

Paint Problem

I used Valspar orange and white spray paint over primer that was completely dry. I sprayed it outside--the sun was bright, the humidity was way below 50%.  The white paint worked fine. The orange paint did not cure/dry.  After 48 hours it was sort of dry to the touch, but spongy.  I put it outside in the sun.  Small specks of dirt were absorbed into the paint layer, so I took it inside. After three weeks, it was still not hard enough to prevent leaving a mark from a gentle fingernail poke. I called Valspar customer service. They said I should follow the humidity instructions on the can--there were no humidity instructions on the can.  They offered to refund my purchase cost.  They said it needed oxygen--open your garage door. What, for another three weeks? I put it in the furnace room and put a fan on it for another four weeks. The paint was still soft.  I gave up and used it as is. (See Photos)  The foam stand made awful marks in the paint, and it was easily damaged by any little impact.  It will be repainted it over the winter with a DIFFERENT BRAND paint. Thank you, Valspar for the hours and hours of work I will spend removing the old paint. I guess it will not be such a difficult job to remove soft paint, but it has been five months now, so the paint is probably extra hard.

After eight weeks, the paint was still soft.

Damage from foam stand.

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