If you want to ride out the pandemic in style, or just entertain the children and grandchildren, take a look at Theodore Tugboat, a 65-feet-long fixture in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the past 20 years. Used for tours, parties and promotions, Theodore Tugboat is now for sale. Asking price: $495,000, Canadian.
The wooden-hulled tug was built in Dayspring, Nova Scotia, in 2000, and it’s registered to carry 49 passengers. It spent a few years promoting Nova Scotia tourism by cruising through the Great Lakes and the east coast of Canada and the U.S., and then settled down in Halifax Harbor as a tour boat.
With its red cap and friendly smile, Theodore Tugboat is modeled after the title character in a popular children’s TV program of the same name that ran in Canada from 1993 to 2001. The problem is, Theodore’s audience aged out.
“Most children who watched the television show in the ‘90s are now in their 30s,” said Dennis Campbell, CEO of Ambassatours Gray Line that operated the boat. “Demand for TV-show themed Theodore tours of the Halifax harbor has significantly diminished over the past few years.”
He added, “While we are deeply aware of Theodore’s significance as a Halifax icon, the reality is that we’ve been subsidizing Theodore’s operation for several years.”
Campbell suggested that future owners might want to use the tug as a waterside café, a pub, an event venue, a ferry, or a unique Airbnb.
The sale is being handled by Scruton Marine. It says that Theodore is powered by a single 400-hp CAT 3406 with 11,045 hours. Draft is 8’7”, and it carries 1,196 gallons of fuel and 681 gallons of water. For electronics, it has two VHFs, a radar, GPS, chartplotter and autopilot, and a 65kW Northern Lights genset.
The interior has two single cabins, two double cabins, a berth in the salon, two heads, one shower, a galley with a sink, fridge/freezer, oven/range and a microwave. Read more:
