Courtesy of Bob RessCLARK MILLS is a 42′ tugboat-inspired cruising boat built in 1972.
Bob Ress has owned and meticulously cared for this boat for most of her 54 years, but now he’s aged out and wants to give her away. “I’m looking to donate [the boat] to someone who will keep it, use it, maintain it, and not sell it,” he writes. “The main timbers are fabricated of [salvaged] first-growth longleaf pine…and the hull is planked with mahogany…. The deck, wheelhouse, engine house, and bulwarks are ’glassed….” She has a 36″ × 28″ propeller and a very large rudder, making her what Bob considers exceptionally maneuverable. Her cruising speed is noted as 7.25 knots at 1,075 rpm, and she has 600 gallons of fuel capacity. “The boat has been kept in a covered shed most of her life and is in very good shape relative to its age,” Bob reports.
The boat’s builder and namesake was Clark Mills (1915–2001), who was a well-known Florida boatbuilder; he also designed the Optimist pram. Mills was a lifelong friend of Bob’s, and he built about 15 boats for him. This one, although not built for Bob, has been an often-used and much-loved family boat that’s hosted many kinds of gatherings under the big awning on her spacious afterdeck, where the fish box and the low engine house have been called into service as buffet tables. She’s also done occasional duty as a genuine working tug.
Courtesy of Bob RessA spacious and covered afterdeck has encouraged sociability and protection from the elements.
For cruising, she sleeps four. Two are in athwartships berths in the wheelhouse. Two more sleep in starboard-side single berths in the forecastle, and in that same space, bounded by watertight bulkheads, there’s a full galley, a dinette opposite, and a built-in head. These accommodations can be entered either by ladders from the wheelhouse or the foredeck-mounted booby hatch, or through a door in the engineroom bulkhead.
Courtesy of Bob Ress (all)Left—Clark Mills the Florida designer best known for the wildly successful Optimist pram—designed and built the tugboat inspired craft that carries his name. Right—The large and well-lit engine room houses a 180-hp Detroit 6-71N diesel.
The walkaround engineroom is spotless, with the main engine and diesel generator both painted white. The generator powers air conditioning, and natural light comes from portlights on both sides. There’s even a workbench with a vise and lockers for tools and spare parts, of which there are many.
The wheelhouse sits high for good all-around visibility. You’ll have to step up to it, in true tug fashion, and there, besides the wooden wheel and engine controls, you’ll find she has air horns, fathometer, VHF, hydraulic steering, and an autopilot. An outdated Loran unit lives there as well.
Particulars
- LOA: 42′
- Beam: 15′
- Draft: 5′
- Power: 180-hp 6-71N Detroit diesel
- Designed by: Clark Mills
- Built by: Mills Boat Works, Clearwater, Florida, 1972
- Official No.: 545103
Who could not love that high bow, graceful sheer, and round stern? But to get her as a gift, you’ll first have to convince owner Bob Ress that you’ll be a good steward. 
Maynard Bray is WoodenBoat’s technical editor.
To reach Bob Ress, try his phone at 727–804–2777. For more information, a video tour, and more photos, search the Internet for “tugboat CLARK MILLS.”