American Tug 49
Top left: In stretching its 41 by 8 feet, American Tugs created space for a luxurious, open galley fitted with a pair of refrigerator-freezers
and a custom stove and trimmed with sapele, an African hardwood. Above left: Located below the pilothouse, the master stateroom
offers plenty of privacy. A queen bed is standard, and a mirrored master head adjoins. The pull-down TV is a popular option. Right:
Guest quarters feature stacked bunks, an adjoining head, a skylight for ventilation, and a locker for an optional washer and dryer.
bins on each side, which should provide space for all
kinds of small gear.
One step through the saloon door leaves you standing
atop another AT innovation. It’s the hatch that leads to
the engine room, and it’s unusual (to me, anyway) because
it opens electrically. The switch is almost hidden along
the door edging; it took me a while to find it. If the
boat suffers a power failure, a mechanical latch will free
the cover.
The saloon is so large that new owners may be tempted
to invite too many friends aboard. It measures 14 feet 5
inches from the outer door to the foot of the pilothouse
stairway. That’s about 5 feet longer than the 41’s saloon.
AT selected neutral and earth-tone colors for the
first 49. A huge number of colors are available for
fabrics and carpeting.
An L-shaped settee upholstered in Ultraleather is to
port, with a 32-inch TV and a sound system in a cabinet
set at an angle between the settee and the galley counter.
Fashionable stainless steel light fixtures are mounted on
the mullions and on either side of the door, and optional
energy-saving LED fixtures are in the overhead.
The saloon is carpeted, and the galley sole is surfaced
with individual handlaid planks of sapele and maple.
Flooring in the heads is a sapele-and-maple veneer.
Sapele veneer and solid woods are used throughout the
boat. Sapele is an African hardwood with the hardness
and density of teak but resembling mahogany in grain
pattern and color. It is widely used in Europe for
cabinetry and, according to a Google source, was used to
build propellers for German zeppelins many decades ago.
The skill and artistry of American Tugs craftsmen is
