clever tender idea

I've got a Lodestar Superlight 220. Can do exactly as you say - lift it onto the foredeck by hand. It also has bigger tubes than the competition which means the 220 can comfortably take 4.
 
Yep, that's the one I was thinking of. The Plastimo also has big tubes, 42 cm. I think i'll have a look at the Plastimo before ordering, to see how rigid the transom is, then decide between the two.
 
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I think you just need to set the boat up ready, which means a decent capacity 12V socket on deck, a powerful 12V inflator, and a superlight tender.

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I tried the well known 12 volt inflators and although they inflate to a good pressure, they take ages to fill a dinghy as they pump a very low volume of air when compared to the cordless ones. You also need a heavy duty socket not just a cigar lighter type.

I use a rechargeable cordless one that I found in Kos (about £30) charges on 12 volt or mains and very small and light. It inflates to almost useable pressure very quickly from flat on my WB270. I then finish it off with a 1/2 dozen presses on the the foot pump. It also saves you trying to get a wire up on the foredeck.

Hayling Hardware also do one for about £25 that works very well, made by 'Camping Gas' or similar 'Argonautical' bought one last year and it was just as good and saved him the hassle of trying to 'hire' mine on a Sunday. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Hmm, that's the kind of hassle i'm trying to avoid, having to use a foot pump after the electric pump, to get the pressure. If the LVM takes too long to get the volume, then there is a 2 stage pump, I think it's the Bravo. It may be 240V though. I haven't researched them yet.

I agree it needs to be a meaty plug, 15-20 amps capacity, but they are available.
 
The two stage pump is very expensive in comparison and you'll still need a heavy duty socket and a long flex draped across the deck.

Not worth it. imho. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
My cigarette lighter plug is rated to 16 amps, so they can do reasonably heavy duty stuff if you find the right one.
 
I found that when the boat was empty and on dry land the transom felt reasonably solid.
With someone sitting in it, or with an outboard on the back, it was a different kettle of fish. Was very light though and packed up compactly.
 
Nick_H said:
I'm looking for a superlight tender, that can be lifted onto the bow manually for inflating and deflating, and packs up as small as possible for storage.

The choice is between a round tail or transom. The round tail packs up smaller, but it's a bit of a hassle to fit the outboard bracket, and doesn't handle very well with the outboard hanging right off the back. For those reasons i'd decided to buy the Lodestar superlight transom model.

However, browsing through one of the chandlers catalogues, I found this new model from Plastimo, which is a mixture of the two, and I think probably the best of both worlds.

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It only weighs 20 kgs, which is pretty light, will take my 3.3 hp outboard, and with the mini transom, it should pack up nice and small.
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I've dug up this old thread because I finally got round to buying one, and have now had time to have a play with it.

The good news is that it's very light, has big dia tubes and an inflatable V hull, so loads of buoyancy, and seems well made. The transom feels just as solid as a conventional tender at full chat with a 3.3 outboard, and I think I just about had it on the plane by leaning over the front. It says 2 adults and one child, but that's nonsense, it would happily take four adults and probably a couple of kids as well.

The bad news is that they've tried to make it all things to all men, and fitted hard plastic keel and rubbing strips, and big moulded rowlocks to make it more durable. The problem with that is that it's awkward to re-pack, and doesn't pack up very small. I have a pet hate for tenders that come with bags that are far too small, I think just so that they can advertise smaller stored dimensions. It would be extremely difficult to get this tender back in its bag on the bow of a boat. I think that's a missed opportunity, they should not have fitted all the protection, but made it even lighter and smaller when packed, at least then it has a clear market. Having said that it still works well for me, because I feed the deflated tender in into a deck locker bow first, but a normal width transom wouldn't fit through the locker opening. I don't think many boats have tender storage like that though.

I bought the Bravo 2 stage pump and that is excellent. I had to modify the end fitting that fits into the valve, but now I can set the pressure for either the floor or tubes, and the pump fills it at high volume, then auto switches to high pressure, then stops when it reaches the correct pressure. If it was any simpler, it would be Lorraine Kelly.
 
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Nick_H said:
Hmm, that's the kind of hassle i'm trying to avoid, having to use a foot pump after the electric pump, to get the pressure.
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As one of the other guys suggested, have a look at the Bombard AX2 which has built in hand pumps which I use after using the electric pump to finish off the inflation. It is also very light with a slated floor and takes 3.3hp outboard. Had mine for over 8years and been happy with it.
 
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