steer clear of this jaunty craft.
But if you’re after a good, honest
boat with character—welcome
aboard.
hard. My fascination was even deeper when I saw that some companies were offering
smaller more pleasure friendly versions of these crafts. However the daunting $500,000
plus price tags kept me a spectator of these great boats. During my studies of classic
craft I was more then a little pleased when I came across plans that were published in a
boating periodical some decades ago.
While studying the plans I saw nothing that would stop the average home builder from
building this craft. With that in mind I have remastered and updated these plans and now
offer them here. The original designer called this boat Herculette - A Mini Tug and Here
is what the great David D. Beach had to say about this boat.
"Everybody has seen big, massive harbor and ocean tugs. These craft storm along with
curling bow waves and an air of complete confidence to move anything afloat. Many of us
have thought how much we’d like to stand in the wheelhouse of such a vessel and be the
master of an honest working boat. There is always something strangely attractive about
these unglamorous work craft. A strong fascination with them lies under the surface of many
a yachtsman who is not overly happy with high speed, high maintenance, high operating
costs and high entertainment expenses. It is to this group (and to others who wish to ally
themselves with the rebels against chrome and plastic) that Herculette is offered. Herculette
is a lady, some distant relative of those big ocean-going salvage vessels always named Ajax
or Hercules. Although she is a bit less huge, she does bear the family resemblance. Her
sprightly sheer, raised wheelhouse and short stack all combine to show her unmistakable
ancestry. Herculette is several levels above the type of design normally considered by the
home builder. She is not, however, an impossible craft to build. "
Beam = 10 feet
Bare Hull weight @ 1200 lbs
Hull type = displacement
Power = inboard engine @ 40 HP
Accommodations
Full Galley
Sleeping for up to 4
Head
closets and stowage space
engine compartment
sheets of building plans
along with several pages of
the naval architects original
building notes.
