Ideal east coast tender?

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photodog

Lord High Commander of Upper Broughton and Gunthor
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So, weekend gone I had hoped to press into action my old seago 230 which I had recently repaired after sitting for 4 seasons at home... But alas whilst the valve repair was entirely successfull it would appear to have picked up another slow leak so I donated the beast to the titchmarsh sea scouts by way of recycling....

Which leaves us with the plastimo 180 which we have been using for the past few years... Which was fine in the west county.... But hopeless here on the east coast were I am now more likely to be at anchor with a tidally challenged ditch to ford onto a muddy beach... Complete with dog, wife, nephews, and BBQ....

I really don't like small inflatables at night... They frankly scare the bejesus out of me... So... What does the experienced gang recomend?


I see it coming down to three choices..

1) something cheap and 2.4 or so meters in length...
2) something with a inflatable floor circa the same length...
3) a hard dingy to tow when I need it... Something used maybe? Clinker style?


I have. 3.3 hp engine which I ain't changing...

What does the gang think is the best small tender for the east coast?


Weres a good place to find a used hard tender for sale? The Things seem to be everywere...

Thanks!
 
I would love to have a rigid dinghy, but in the divorce I got Gladys, she got the nice little 10' tender... I have since bought a big inflatable (3.2 metre airdeck Honda) because I want to keep as dry as possible if I need to use it to get out to Gladys. Length is the most important thing as it keeps you dry, weight when handling ashore is also critical... As for finding one for sale, good ones are rare as hen's teeth
 
I guess the question is, as this is to take with you when going to other moorings, will you want to - or be able to - tow it?
That is a pretty big consideration as I'm not sure towing a rigid dinghy very far is that sensible as it could be a liability if it gets a bit rough and will slow you down a lot when sailing.
An an inflatable with airdeck floor would be OK as long as you can stow it safely, pump it up on board and launch/recover something of that weight.
We used to have a tiny rib on our last boat that just fitted upside down on the coachroof when inflated. We used a four point rope to lift it on and off the deck using a spare halyard. A staysail pole and track scuppers that one now.
We decided changing to a Honwave - inflatable with inflatable floor - was a good compromise (especially as I found one cheap!). It deflates to a reasonably small size and lives in it's bag on deck and can be inflated when needed. It would be lighter to drag the final bit over to the shore than a rigid dinghy as well. Size depends on how many adults, kids, pets, provisions you will carry. Don't forget that even an inflatable is pretty heavy to shift about. I can just about lift our 2.7m one on my own as it's bulky and 35kg although the T24 is a bit less!
One tip - try and find a decent electric inflator - it saves ages although you still need to use the foot pump to get it infalated to full capacity.
 
nortada said:
One with wheels
Click to expand...

When I refer to 'wheels' I mean launch & recovery dolly wheels.

I have articulated wheels on both inflatables. Invaluable, make beach/slipway launches a breeze & protects floor from stones, when dinghying protects prop from ropes etc.

Cost about £50 - good investment.
 
My boat is on a swinging mooring on a large open creek on the Medway and can get quite choppy at times, so a good dinghy is essential. I have had various dinghies in the past. I have found that small rigid dinghies are fine for just one on board, but when loaded with 2 or 3 people they can get quite scary in a chop. I now have a Walker Bay 10 that is great to row or motor, it does need a tiller extension when I’m on my own. It carries 2 or 3 adults completely dry through choppy water. I have towed it and it follows like a dream, however it does create quite a drag. Being plastic it takes quite a bit of abuse and being softer than GRP doesn’t mark the Gel coat when alongside. They do come up on eBay quite frequently, not cheaply though, I paid about £400 for mine, but it was fairly local so didn’t have far to go to collect it.
I also have a Plastimo Compact P240 inflatable that rolls up and travels on the coach roof. I haven’t tried it but I think it is small enough to travel inflated on the fore deck. I haven’t towed it far but the few short trips I have done with it seems to tow very well. Its inflatable rigid V hull means it rows and motors well. It has large diameter tubes which gives plenty of buoyancy and easily carries 3 (it is rated at 2.5). The only snag is that with 2 on board there isn’t much space for gear. Although very light it is still quite a struggle to get back aboard, I need to look at some means of using a halliard. I bought it after a scary trip in an old Avon Redstart at Harty ferry.
2 of us had sailed singlehanded to Harty and decided that we didn’t need to take 2 dinghies ashore. I rowed across and picked up the other chap and went ashore at slack water. After a couple of drinks we decided it was time to return to our boats. By this time the tide was racing in. We set off from the hard but with the weight of the 2nd person sitting on the tube at the stern the boat was very difficult to row. We hadn’t noticed it in slack water but with the tide racing in it became a real problem. I don’t know how long it took us to get out to the boats but we really thought we were going to be swept round the back of the Island.
 
FulmarJeddo said:
My boat is on a swinging mooring on a large open creek on the Medway and can get quite choppy at times, so a good dinghy is essential. I have had various dinghies in the past. I have found that small rigid dinghies are fine for just one on board, but when loaded with 2 or 3 people they can get quite scary in a chop. I now have a Walker Bay 10 that is great to row or motor, it does need a tiller extension when I’m on my own. It carries 2 or 3 adults completely dry through choppy water. I have towed it and it follows like a dream, however it does create quite a drag. Being plastic it takes quite a bit of abuse and being softer than GRP doesn’t mark the Gel coat when alongside. They do come up on eBay quite frequently, not cheaply though, I paid about £400 for mine, but it was fairly local so didn’t have far to go to collect it.
I also have a Plastimo Compact P240 inflatable that rolls up and travels on the coach roof. I haven’t tried it but I think it is small enough to travel inflated on the fore deck. I haven’t towed it far but the few short trips I have done with it seems to tow very well. Its inflatable rigid V hull means it rows and motors well. It has large diameter tubes which gives plenty of buoyancy and easily carries 3 (it is rated at 2.5). The only snag is that with 2 on board there isn’t much space for gear. Although very light it is still quite a struggle to get back aboard, I need to look at some means of using a halliard. I bought it after a scary trip in an old Avon Redstart at Harty ferry.
2 of us had sailed singlehanded to Harty and decided that we didn’t need to take 2 dinghies ashore. I rowed across and picked up the other chap and went ashore at slack water. After a couple of drinks we decided it was time to return to our boats. By this time the tide was racing in. We set off from the hard but with the weight of the 2nd person sitting on the tube at the stern the boat was very difficult to row. We hadn’t noticed it in slack water but with the tide racing in it became a real problem. I don’t know how long it took us to get out to the boats but we really thought we were going to be swept round the back of the Island.
Click to expand...

Cost, location & intended usage largely dictates the choice but conflicting needs usually leads to a compromise.
 
We have a Bombard Max 3+ Aerotec (snappy name) with flip-down wheels and I have to say it's brilliant - light, rigid, stable. We like to hop ashore a lot, the transfer to from the tender seems a lot easier and safer when you can comfortably stand on the tube without any danger of it tipping over. It'll even take the weight of a fully grown seal climbing in over the side without tipping over... It rows reasonably well too, although longer oars would be better. The downsiide is that with several compartments to inflate separately, including the floor and the 'keel', it would be a bit of a pain to use if you like to deflate and stow aboard - we don't have room so we tow it.

Mike
 
Always thought the Walker Bays' were a brilliant idea but didn't get one in the end, went with a small 10'6" rib - but only because we're lucky enough to be able to put davits on the stern to carry it around out of the water. They are wonderfully stable, plane easily and carry a family of four and all their beer easily. Disadvantage is weight, and even with wheels a typical east coast sloppy mud foreshore makes it difficult to carry very far (actually better to leave the wheels up and slide along the gloop).

Our previous boat Kioni came with a little 8ft rigid tender but to be honest it frightened the life out of me. Very tippy in any kind of chop. I rarely if ever took the family in it, mostly rowing out myself and then bringing Kioni over from the mooring to pick them up. The small slatted floor inflatable with a 2.5HP outboard we bought later was far more practical and much safer, so if I were in your shoes I would go with that (or better yet an airdeck) especially as you already have an engine.

Like cars, I reckon you need at least two tenders - a big rib for long distance cruising and a small roll-up or airdeck for pootling about (although a couple of inflatable kayaks do a good job for the latter). Oh, and a third, a hand-built classic wooden tender, for Sunday rowing and generally looking beautiful.
 
I think the ideal east coast tender is a hovercraft! (May be a bit difficult to fit in the cockpit locker though.)

I'm not sure what the advantage of a rigid dinghy would be for someone marina based (unless go the whole hog and gets something that rows nicely or sails so one can go exploring). We used to use our rigid dinghy when on a mooring at Pin Mill and such places, but usually left it on the mooring and always (and still do) carry a small inflatable aboard for getting ashore 'on voyage'.

Having said that we rarely use the inflatable these days. When I was in the west country, going ashore for a meal and a pint was a regular occurence, but in that part of the world there are a lot more settlements and pubs by the water. On the east coast they are not only much rarer, but usually involve quite a bit of tidal logistics and mud. Hence we usually stay aboard.

A challenge with an inflatable is choosing a workable compromise between the light weight and fast inflation of something small, and the people/luggage capacity and better seaworthiness of something bigger.

I've never had one, but I've yet to be convinced of the benefit of an airdeck (over slatted floor) if the use is occasional. It's just one more thing to faff about with and pump up, which is the deterrent to getting the dinghy out and used.
 
Depends how big the mother ship is and how many crew to move in my opinion, we use a 2.8 Avon Rover Aerodeck with a 3.5hp 4 stroke. This can move four folk and their kit without too much problem. If you only sail two up then prob too big. Most inflatables once they are rolled up take a similar amount of deck or locker space, but room needed to inflate varies a lot.

The inflatable floor makes motoring longish distances much easier and improves stability, used to have an Avon Redcrest that was similar size but much less functional.
 
I was very impressed by a boat on the Twizzle that had a tender with a cuddy. It was definitely a tender, as it was marked T/T the mother ship. I wonder where they kept the tender for the tender?
 
Another Walker Bay addict. I have the 8ft and it stows on the foredeck.
I have the inflatable tubes which means a 14st bloke can stand on the gunnels and it wont capsize.
It also has a sail kit, and now sports a bowsprit and jib.
And of course, the 3.3hp Mercury makes it very nippy

They cost lots, but there is no disappointment, and Mrs FC loves it.
 
How about this one?

The Indi Jones yacht tender is equipped with an advanced navigation system, full air conditioning, water maker, ice maker and all the amenities expected on a tender of this class. To assist superyacht Indio there is also an integrated fuel transfer station on the aft platform. The large workspace on aft deck can easily be converted to a big sun bed or nice lounge area with a retractable sunshade.

Twin MAN 800 Hp engines coupled to a pair of Rolls Royce/Kamewa water jets gives the tender a speed range of 45 to 49 knots. The new steering system ROCCS from Rolls Royce/Kamewa makes manoeuvring extremely easy and tight turns are comfortable with the trim tabs integrated in the steering.
 
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