boat tender

R

rowey2006

Well-Known Member
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1 Jan 2006
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144
www.birdcareuk.com
hi all
i am after all your comments good and bad.

looking at buying a tender very interested in the quicksilver 270 airdeck.
thing is which engine to choose?
tender will be used in a tidal stream and carry 2 people.
also would like it to be a back up if the main boat engine fails may need tender to pull back in to shore but worried tender may split pulling 26ft boat would this tender by strong enough?
not interested getting on the plane just moving about.
thanks marc.
p.s please recommend other makes if iam on the wrong path, i have a restricted budget.
 
Lodestar won a recent group test for tenders of approx. that size. Not sure how the price compares with Quicksilver though.

What is the main boat, that may need towing/assisting? Suspect that this will have to be done alongside, rather than from ahead.
It would also be better to have the aux. outboard mounted on a bracket on the mother-ship rather than having to do any towing at all.
 
hi the main boat is a maxum 2400 with petrol 5.0ltr v8

i dont want to have engine fail at all but with buying anything for the boat you try and save space and have a product that will do as many jobs as possible.

regarding a stern bracket i hate them ruins boat lines and get in the way.
regards
marc
 
IMHO 10.H.P minimum to shove a 26 footer in any tideway. Plus maybe tie the dinghy/tender alongside rather than to tow. Belt and braces would be to have a "decent" size auxilliary on a bracket and a dinky engine for the tender. Pain in the butt I know but depends on the waters where you go boaty and how far you plan to passage. Conked out last week 15 miles from Ireland on a delivery trip, fortunately managed to limp in but it,s NOT FUNNY. Single engined heavy vessel needed a BIG outboard to shove the mother, but nowhere to hang an outboard anyway. would have to have big "rollocks"to row that mother if you know what I mean! Some threads in the past about this, perhaps a forum member with the same vessel has the definative answer?
 
[ QUOTE ]
regarding a stern bracket i hate them ruins boat lines and get in the way.
regards
marc


[/ QUOTE ]

You'll have enormous problems 'towing' that boat with that tender, whether alongside or ahead...

From a safety point of view, you need to re-examine your opinions on aesthetics and practicalities...
 
[/ QUOTE ]

You'll have enormous problems 'towing' that boat with that tender, whether alongside or ahead...

From a safety point of view, you need to re-examine your opinions on aesthetics and practicalities...

[/ QUOTE ]

Sad perhaps, but very true.

Think you will find that 10hp will be too big for the dinghy as well - I'd have thought a 6 or an 8 will be the maximum for the dinghy and for carrying, by yourself.
 
Long reply

Went through a similar thought process a couple of years ago and bought a Suzumar 265. Subsequent tests in Yaching Mags. comfirmed my choice.

It has bigger tubes than just about any in its class. This is significant in a tideway. The first time you are tendering with any kind of breeze against tide you will value BIG tubes, much drier.

This will take up to 8Hp though I wouldn't fancy transhipping an 8Hp v.often without help. You perhaps have the advantage of a bathing platform. 8Hp would move a 26 footer quite well as a get out of jail card. You are unlikely to be venturing out in the sort of conditions where 8 Hp would be overwhelmed by wind, and it would 'cope' against a fairly stiff stream.

For example, I use mine with a 4Hp (3.3 in new money). When I launched a couple of years ago a corroded wire meant my main engine wouldn't start. Rather than block the pontoon while I fixed it I strapped the dinghy alongside and motored out to a buoy against about 2knots of stream. This is a 32ft yacht weighing about 6.5 tonnes all up. With 8Hp this would be very handy and a hoot planing 2 up.

Suzuki, like the rest of the engine makers design inflatables to sell Hp so they are strong around the back-end, and cheap so they can be 'bundled' with engines by dealers. Has airdeck, infl. keel, spray rail, good rowing layout.

Downsides - bit heavier than others, transom plate powder coated which flaked off - repainted it properly before it dissolved.

At this size they are all unwieldy, take 2 to launch and manhandle. Hopefully it would strap across your stern underway (if that's the intention).

As far as towing is concerned, not generaly recommended. A light inflatable with no inherent directional stability with sheer from side to side dramatically before you get any 'way' on. Just pushing against the transom would be better (needs someone to steer main vessel). Best option would be to get the engine into a bracket on the bathing platform of similar and steer with the outdrive with manual assistance from someone operating the o/b for close quarters (I'm making a few assumptions here as ther is no info in your profile about what you do and where you do it).

Quickest way to deploy a 'ready' tender is to lash alongside, off the rear quarter with the o/b behind the 'tow'. This is the only way you will have any kind of steerage.

As with all of these situations, a bit of forethought to decide which side you DON'T want the tender when you get to the destination is useful, and a practice run before needed in anger wouldn't go amis!

In short, your choice isn't bad, I just found the Suzu. better spec. For engine size, your main criteria will be dictated by price, 8Hp would cost a fortune £1,000 + new, and so heavy it may become a permanent fixture. Whilst it would be 'manageable' on dry land, it would be almost impossible to deal with in even a gentle swell or for instance in the wash from a passing boat in a an anchorage. 4Hp is reasonably easy to manage and would do what you require.

Final consideration is what to do with it if you want to take it with you. If you strap across a bathing platform this will have a marked effect on trim and performance if you are at all marginal. Hauling aboard and lashing to cabin top would be a challenge - but not impossible - for two to get over the guard rails.

A motor and dinghy that is easy to manage is a severe compromise both as a tender and as a tug, but a Bombard AX-2 will prob. take a 4Hp and get either crew or mothership to shore if asked!

Good luck in your choice!
 
Having gone through a similar process and having asked advice on the forum, we went for a Lodestar NSA 290, plus 9.9hp Tohatsu o/b.

Tender around £800, outboard around £950.

Both weigh around 30kg if i recall, and both can be carried by one person, though picking them up isn't something to take on lightly (excuse the rather obvious pun).

Happy with both, they seem well made and suit our needs.

If you want to use the tender as a tug I'm guessing you'd need more power than you can realistically fit to that size tender other than in flat water and with little wind.
 
I have a Searay 240 with a 2.6m tender and 4hp o/b. As an emergency, it works fine to push me (alongside tug) in the sheltered river. It would be a long trip home if i was out on the coast......however it would stop me from drifting into rocks and give some directional control.

I look after my engine & hope its very reliable. Hasnt let me down yet & neither did any of my others so i'm comfortable that i'll never really need it as a tug.

I'm also planning to snap davit the dinghy to the platform. At 28kg i dont think it'll affect performance much & it keeps it well out of the way... i'm awaiting the pads etc any day now.
 
I bought the quicksilver 270 airdeck, and a Merc 5hp two stroke. Not used yet, so no idea how well it performs, but the 5hp is only 20kg, and I can lift it on/off without creating hernias. It might get one person planing, but probably not two. The inflatable looked huge (very wide tubes) when I blew it up indoors.

The other engine I was looking at was the Yamaha 8hp two stroke. Lovely engine, but regularly bending over holding 27kg would have resulted in a "sproing" sound and a trip to the GP.

dv.
 
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