VIDEO: Tug Alley Too Up For Sale

For 10 years, Capt. Bob Hassold has guided thousands of Portsmouth visitors up and down the Piscataqua River aboard the Tug Alley Too and loved every minute of it.

But Hassold, who co-owns the Tugboat Alley store with his wife, Natalie, has decided to put the Tug Alley Too up for sale and give up the sea.

"I'm turning 80 in December," said Hassold as he piloted another river cruise on Tuesday afternoon. "I said when I turned 80 I was going to stop doing the tug boat cruises."

Currently, the Tug Alley Too is being sold for $70,000, and Hassold has said he he has seen some interested buyers. His most ardent wish is that whomever buys the tug boat that he purchased in Maine a decade ago continues to operate it as a tour boat in Portsmouth.

"It would be a crime, an absolute crime, for someone to take the boat out of Portsmouth," Hassold said.

On Tuesday, Hassold and deck hand Dan Leach took out six passengers for a 90-minute cruise up and around the Piscataqua River on what was a perfect day to be out on the water.

The passengers were able to get a close look at Portsmouth from the water, travel underneath the now closed Memorial Bridge, and view the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Other highlights of the trip included Whaleback Island Lighthouse, Wood Island, the Coast Guard Station in New Castle and the return trip through Little Harbor on the other side of Great Island.

Halfway through the trip, Hassold let Leach take the wheel in the pilot house so he could tell his passengers a story about the late Connie Scovill Small, the last person to serve as the Portsmouth Lighthouse keeper.

Hassold showed the passengers copies of her autobiography and told them that Small took a trip on the Tug Alley Too in 2004 at age 105. She told Hassold how much she enjoyed seeing the house where she and her husband once lived that is now part of the Coast Guard Station next to Fort Constitution in New Castle.

"Connie passed away six months after she was on the boat," Hassold said. "When Connie passed away, she left a big hole in my heart."

Hassold also shared Small's motto with his passengers: "Never look down, always look up."

Inside the pilot house, Hassold said it is hard to believe 10 years have passed since he and Natalie decided to purchase the former "Seasmoke" tugboat from its previous owner in Rockland, Maine.

He recalled that customers would constantly come into their store and ask them if they could ride on the tugboats in Portsmouth Harbor. The decision to offer tugboat cruises paid off after they went from taking 500 passengers out the first year to more than 900 in 2010.

Hassold said his season begins around May 1 and sometimes lasts until the end of October, depending on the weather. As captain, he has performed countless weddings, vow renewals, helped people bury their loved ones' ashes at sea and taken couples out to celebrate their wedding anniversaries.

"You can see the expressions on the people's faces and how happy they are" that they get to cruise on a real tugboat, Hassold said.

He also said that most of his passengers tend to be women. "Women love tugboats."

As Hassold carefully piloted the Tug Alley Too up river, he said, "I also want you to know I'm going to miss it."