Cheap Inflatable Boat v. Branded Yacht Tender

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

A report about a totally unwarranted lifeboat 'shout' like this :
Howth RNLI Lifeboat Rescue Four People in an Inflatable Dinghy
led me to research the type of inflatable boat involved, see this link;
Intex Excursion 4 Review and Specs | Boating Geeks
and I found that any idiot can have one for as little as €161.00 +p&p while something of equivalent size and features, such as an airdeck, from a prominent online chandelry would set me back somewhere in the region of £700.00 :
Seago Spirit Tender Airdeck 240, 270, 290 (no connection, other suppliers are available).
Can the forum debate the relative merits of these types of craft and tell me why, although in fact I have two, perfectly good tenders, one of them a Zodiac, I should not in fact, hypothetically, put them both up for sale and buy one of these commodious but cheap ones, making a considerable cash gain in the process?

 

[Iliade]

Because when the RNLI have to rescue you for no fault of your own, perhaps even when you neither wanted nor required rescuing, the press will treat you in the same vein as a couple last seen paddling to America in an inflatable swan with burger boxes for paddles, rather than an unfortunate but well prepared seaman.

 

[pvb]

Because when the RNLI have to rescue you for no fault of your own, perhaps even when you neither wanted nor required rescuing, the press will treat you in the same vein as a couple last seen paddling to America in an inflatable swan with burger boxes for paddles, rather than an unfortunate but well prepared seaman.

A similarly-sized 3D tender weighs about the same as the Excursion 4. Would that also attract criticism?

 

[V1701]

The Intex stuff is better than an inflatable toy but not as good as a "proper" tender. There are lots of people, fishermen in poorer eastern european countries, e.g. who add things like floors and seats to Intex boats. I spend far too much time on Youtube...

 

[Stemar]

Because when the RNLI have to rescue you for no fault of your own, perhaps even when you neither wanted nor required rescuing, the press will treat you in the same vein as a couple last seen paddling to America in an inflatable swan with burger boxes for paddles, rather than an unfortunate but well prepared seaman.

I don't recognise that rescue in your post. The article played up the fact that they had safety gear and just said they weren't making any headway against wind and tide. The people on board might not have realised they needed rescuing yet, but I'm willing to bet they were glad to be ashore and grateful for the help to get there.

 

[TernVI]

Intex make inflatable canoes whichseem to be OK.
I think the dinghy only takes a 'trolling motor or 1.5HP'.
I expect that's the difference you get by buying a proper tender, it's rated for a 4hp motor and won't fold in half when you open the throttle?

I also expect the market for £150 beach boats is bigger than the tender market so VFM will likely be better. But if you need a 'proper job' you pay for it.

 

[Sandy]

I spend far too much time on Youtube...

Oh I don't know. I've been impressed with the skills of farriers lately and I have no interest in horses.

 

[Kelpie]

The ergonomics of the Intex look just horrible. Looks like they've designed a floating armchair, not a boat that can be effectively rowed.

 

[Iliade]

P.S. I invented the Swan example as a joke, though it would come as no surprise to find that someone may have tried.

As for the 3D tender, if the RNLI chaps think its a tender then probably not, if they think it unsuitable then probably yes. I think it looks infinitely more seaworthy than an Intex, which IMHO looks like a glorified bath toy, and the 3D weighs less than the Intex! (In forty years time when my Avon finally dies I'll be looking into them in more detail.)

If I was trying to escape from an oppressive regime I'd consider setting out to sea in an Intex, otherwise no way! I still have memories of childhood PVC inflatable toys splitting from end to end...

 

[Martin_J]

As Illiade says, I also have memories of the relatively cheap PVC dinghies splitting spontaneously. One small nick and you'd instantly have a foot long split with very quick deflation and we'd all end up swimming before you'd realised what had happened.
Compare that with what we're calling a "proper" tender where if you notice a hole, you can put your finger over it until safely ashore..
What happens with these £160 dinghies if they get s small hole, I have no idea... it would be nice to know.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Because when the RNLI have to rescue you for no fault of your own, perhaps even when you neither wanted nor required rescuing, the press will treat you in the same vein as a couple last seen paddling to America in an inflatable swan with burger boxes for paddles, rather than an unfortunate but well prepared seaman.

Ireland Afloat usually quotes the RNLI press handout verbatim, so there was no editorial opinion involved, the opinions are purely my own. The 'casualties' were, seemingly, unaware of the effect of tide and wind on their progress, but if they had any concerns about it, they did have a seamanlike alternative.

I don't recognise that rescue in your post. The article played up the fact that they had safety gear and just said they weren't making any headway against wind and tide. The people on board might not have realised they needed rescuing yet, but I'm willing to bet they were glad to be ashore and grateful for the help to get there.

I don't follow what you mean by "..don't recognise the rescue.." The article was a verbatim report of the RNLI press handout, with the usual mentions of safety gear, and that whoever called the C.G. did the right thing, etc etc. What I was getting at was that they were not actually in danger and could have gone ashore on a 2 mile long sheltered beach close to the nearby railway station to make their way back to Howth, rather than wasting the funds of the Lifeboat. This, in any event was just a grumpy aside in which I was leading in to my question about hypothetically trading in my two reputable tenders in favour of something cheap and (potentially) nasty.
(Edited to correct the first part of this post which was temporarily lost due to finger trouble, tiredness and Scotch?)

 

[RogerJolly]

We bought a similar thing as it folded smaller than our main inflatable so we could fit in our cockpit locker and take it with us, leaving the main one on
the mooring.

It's fine for light use - paddling oursleves to the beach for a few hundred yards at Lulworth Cove or Studland Bay say (while it lasts!). Light weight comes in handy for lugging it around.

Guess there'd be trouble though if it got rubbed against a barnacle encrusted piling or rough bit of concrete.

We have an outboard bracket but it's bit too floppy to support our little 2HP stroke Yamaha. Maybe we're over the maximum recommended engine spec. Can't remember.

There was a PBO 'experience' quite recently with a similar use case - with a Brompton involved? Might dig it out.

 

[greeny]

It depends what you want from your tender. If your boat is moored 10 metres from shore and you only use the dinghy for access to the mooring in benign conditions, the water is calm, no current, summer weather then the intex will be fine. For most of us a dinghy will be used over longer distances, and in cold wet conditions maybe. This obviously calls for something better.
Out here in Portugal, we regularly see old windsurf boards, a stripped out jetski hull and even a raft made from plastic barrels used to access the boats in the moorings off Ferragudo.
Horses for courses.

 

[pvb]

As Illiade says, I also have memories of the relatively cheap PVC dinghies splitting spontaneously. One small nick and you'd instantly have a foot long split with very quick deflation and we'd all end up swimming before you'd realised what had happened.
Compare that with what we're calling a "proper" tender where if you notice a hole, you can put your finger over it until safely ashore..
What happens with these £160 dinghies if they get s small hole, I have no idea... it would be nice to know.

What happens with an even lighter weight 3D PVC dinghy?

 

[Iliade]

There seem to be some confusion as to what they are made from. The 3D website says poylester while piratescave and others say PVC. It could be a PVC/polyester laminate perhaps?

If so not much different from any other good dinghy.

I'd want to see one before buying.