The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63646
FOLLOWING THE DREAM BY KEITH INGRAM L ittle Toot is a children's storybook written by Hardie Gramatky in 1939 which tells the story of this little tugboat who thought that work was a joke, and preferred to play around making figure eights, and other games, which in turn irritated the other tugboats who call him a "Sissy". He is rejected by the tugboat community and dejectedly drifts out to sea, where he accidentally discovers a shipwrecked liner and has a chance to prove his worth. Such are the makings of stories and dreams of many maritime adventures. Our story starts with similar beginnings when, as a youngster, Clint Skelton can still recall his grandmother captivating this son of a local tug master, with the adventures of Little Toot. The stories must have been good because they made a lasting impression on the lad, now a grown man and an engineer at sea. After serving his time, Clint Skelton, like all young fellas, felt the beckoning pull of "the great OE", except in Clint's case, the dream was of working on some of the world's finest superyachts. It was while working on the superyacht Adix as chief engineer in Long Island, when he saw a small 14ft toy tugboat Drummer Hoff in 2004. The wee boat brought back memories of the childhood stories from his grandmother about Little Toot, and he thought, 'I could build one of those'. Before returning to Valencia he managed to track down a set of plans, and along with the skipper of Adix whose brother was also a naval architect with Incat, they jointly redesigned the little tugboat to resemble the original vision and concept, producing the lines of a solid, seaworthy little tugboat. After having a major spend up in the States on parts and all manner of bits and bobs for the boat, like the lovely hand- made rope fender purchased from a traditional riggers shop, and the large twin Kahlenberg horns which when sounded 24 Professional Skipper May/June 2012 might make you think she was one of her 30m big brothers if you couldn't actually see her, Clint's commitment to building the little boat became more and more a reality. On returning to Valencia, Clint faced the problem of what to do after a long day's work. Options for R&R were restricted to the pubs, which would soon swallow your hard earned cash if you visited them every night, so with the boss's approval he utilised a temporary framed and PVC clad tent shed in a corner of the yard, and Clint and his mates set to work and began turning the dream into reality. Lofting was done on the floor of the tent, a temporary jig built, and then the frames, keel and back-bones were added. Using modern construction techniques along with tried and proven cost effective materials, the vessel was laid up using 3mm laminated marine plywood, with a 12mm bottom, 9mm sides and cabin, fully sealed in a resin and glassed exterior. The interior framing and construction is immense including the boxed engine beds, with the main belting and bulwark cap and coaming being four laminates of 12mm ply. A forward 130 litre water tank mainly for ballast is fully glassed in and sealed. This method of construction has produced a very strong little tugboat. No detail has been left in the wheelhouse, and no item or design requirement befitting of her big brothers has been omitted. Windows, doors, hatches, and crawl spaces; it's all there and beautifully finished. While there's not a lot of room to swing a cat, the wheelhouse is well appointed and given that this is essentially a day boat for fun, there is a small single gas burner to boil up the billy for a cup of char and ample space for chilly bins of tucker and refreshments. She is powered by a three-cylinder 30hp Perkins engine giving a service speed of six knots with an expected bollard A smart helm and dash