New kid on the block

Tomboy 26 fills niche for small, rugged, multi-purpose workboats

When you’re the new kid on the block, you want to both stand out and fit in. The Tomboy 26 is successful on both counts. This heavy-duty workboat is unique in its compact design and its dedication to assisting contractors and dredging companies - with dredging, towing, pushing and crew tendering activities.

Brothers Wieger and Harm de Wit of de Wit Workboats in Akkrum in the Dutch province of Friesland, are responsible for this unique concept. “We helped develop two tailor-made workboats for a customer two years ago. This made us realize there very few dedicated, multi-purpose workboats on the market, and we wanted to change that,” explains Wieger de Wit.

Understanding they couldn’t “go it alone” the brothers found knowledgeable and willing partners to turn their vision into reality: Marine Equipment Services (MES) helped refine their workboat concept, Vripack Engineering fleshed out the design, De Wit Workboats built the boat and de Jong Scheepsmotoren supplied the engines.

What makes a good workboat?
For Wieger and Harm, the key requirements were durability, compactness, maneuverability and good sailing capabilities. Vripack Engineering did a fine job on the design. The Tomboy has a sturdy frame: the flat bottom with square-cut bows simplifies pushing and pulling heavy loads, while detachable fenders on the sides and bows protect her during heavy-duty work.

All these features help the Tomboy move and position dredging material, pipes or pontoons, and act as a rope-runner or anchor handler. Her large working surface even offers enough room to store cleaning equipment for clearing oil spills. The compact size – less than 8 meters (26.20 ft) long and 2.5 meters (8.20 ft) wide -- makes the Tomboy easy to handle and transport.

Designed around the engine
From the beginning, the brothers had their minds set on designing the boat around a John Deere engine. “De Jong Scheepsmotoren helped select the 90 kW (121 hp) 4045T and checked the design drawings for the engine area. They also advised us on the layout of the exhaust pipe, the type of rudder and the cooling capacity – proving themselves real partners,” Wieger comments.

The first Tomboy 26 is now in operation at MES, and the market is growing interested. “We have already achieved a bollard pull of 1200 kg (2645 lbs) instead of the expected 1000 kg (2204 lbs), which can be partially attributed to the engine,” smiles Wieger, “and the engine’s turbo definitely contributes to Tomboy’s maneuverability.” It looks like the new kid on the block is fitting in just fine.

Source: johndeere.com