inflatable tender

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jacko37

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hi all im new to this forum and boating so i hope to get some advice from you good people:),

i am looking into getting a 2.7m inflatable tender so the family and i can enjoy some time afloat at calshot and surrounding areas,and maybe do a spot of fishing away from the crowded beach.im only thinking of going offshore a few hundred metres so not far.

i would love to a know things before i go looking for a tender and outboard,

1: what floor is best for me slatted,boards or inflatable and whats the differences? pros n cons
2:inflatable keel what does this do and why?
3:what size outboard would i need for a 2.7m tender,im not looking to go fast just a steady pace on the solent would suit :)
4:makes of outboard what makes are reccomended

i know i wanna know alot but after looking through internet sites ive been confused lol:o
any advice would be greatfully received :)
if i have posted this topic in the wrong place sorry
 
Hello and welcome. My pennysworth is as follows:-

1) Inflatable "airdeck" floor is best. It's easier to use than slats or floorboards and is often lighter than the latter. Also normally provides a drier floor than slats. Also, nicer on the feet.

2) Inflatable keel is very useful to have - makes steering easier/more precise. It turns the bottom of the hull into a V shape which means the dinghy has more grip in the water.

3) 3.5hp - perhaps 8hp. The dinghy mfr. will state what the max. hp can be. Some people ignore this but I expect this would invalidate their insurance. I reckon a 5hp would be powerful enough to plane with 2 people on board. You'd definitely want an inflatable keel then.

4) Makes of engine. Everyone has their own favourite but they are all much of a much-ness. Some say that Yamaha are the best. In the low power ranges, engines are often made by one co. - such as Tohatsu - and are then rebadged as Mariner or Mercury.
Personally I'd go for the lightest in the power output I've decided on.
Makes of dinghy - suggest you want the biggest tubes possible (drier when under way), plus inflatable floor and inflatable keel - sometimes the former also does the job of the latter - plus solid transom, plus low weight.
Lodestar have come out well in comparative tests as have Honwave.

Enjoy yourself
 
We've looked into this.... and whilst we did make a purchase, the conclusion I reached was that doing the Level 2 Powerboating course would be the best first step - not least because you'd know how the set the thing up and then open it up without worry that your nice new outboard might soon be upside down in the drink.

We were told that an 8hp might just about get a lightly-laden 2.8m Avon (with inflatable keel) onto the plane in good conditions... but that 15hp would be needed to guarantee getting the boat onto the plane even with 3 people and some other bits onboard... and that 15 would be needed to stand any chance of waterskiiing.

Sadly, even our BF6 weighs a massive 35kg.... and at 10+hp you could be looking at a four figure sum to buy (and then insurance) and at having 45kg to lug around. Makes pottering around without even trying to get on the plane (with an 13kg, 2.5hp unit) quite appealing!
 
gregandginas said:
Sadly, even our BF6 weighs a massive 35kg....
Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you are coming from with that 'massive 35kg' it is an inflatable craft we are talking about, I used to carry two sacks of rice to our car that weighed more than that! The sacks were 25Kg each and that would be what we would buy every two months. So a measly 35Kg for your inflateable is nowt, I was just looking at inflatable boats and some that I saw were 65Kg, so don't complain about a measly 35Kg

Mal
 
Sultans_Kapitein said:
I'm not sure where you are coming from with that 'massive 35kg' it is an inflatable craft we are talking about, I used to carry two sacks of rice to our car that weighed more than that! The sacks were 25Kg each and that would be what we would buy every two months. So a measly 35Kg for your inflateable is nowt, I was just looking at inflatable boats and some that I saw were 65Kg, so don't complain about a measly 35Kg

Mal
Click to expand...


Gosh, you lot from over the hill are so manly, must be all the hotpots and black puddins.

Did ya lark thaat?


:D:D:D:D
 
Mal. I think BF 6 refers to the weight of the outboard as 35kg..as BF6 is an Onda unless I are mistaken.

Tim
 
I don't mind the 35kg on the driveway (though swmbo probably would) and I did manage lowering it 4' into the inflatable and then standing in the inflatable and manhandling it onto the transom without dropping it in the drink... but I was very glad that the location allowed me to have a line on it to keep it upright and stop it going to the bottom if I slipped!

If the item cost £3 or was designed to be dunked then I'd perhaps have been comfortable... but our BF6 (second hand) cost £775 and our inflatable remains oar-powered until I get a gantry arrangement off the back of the Pandora to allow me to transfer the BF6 without worrying about the damage that would be caused by a dunking (however brief) that led to saltwater getting into the head.
 
There is a comparative test on several small inflatables suitable as tenders in PBO this month which may be of great help to you(?).

I now have 2 inflatables.

I have recently bought a 35 year old Avon Redcrest which I now use as the tender when I go places.
It is big enough for 4 adults with a bit of gear on calm water. It does have small tubes so on a choppy sea I would need to have oilees and a lifejacket on and only two aboard. It has a drop on mini stainless steel transom where the 2.3 Honda wobbles about on, and it has no floorboards etc... just a water bed !!?? It folds up ito a very small volume and can be tied onto the foredeck of my 28 footer. It rows superbly with just me in it and I go for a paddle in it just for fun. It has those solid rubber 'rowlocks that yu feed the oar handle in from the seaward side.... nothing to break or bend out of square. You can pick these old ones up for around £200 - 400 if your lucky and being made of Hyperlon they are bombproof. They must always be pumped up rigid to get the best out of them, similar to many inflatables.

My other inflatable which I bought with my yacht, is a 5 year old 4 man Zodiac. It has wooden floor boards, large tubes, an inflatable keel, a wooden transom and seat, and rowlocks that were designed by a prat! ( the later Zodiac rowlock is a little better) This I use to get from the boatyard to my swinging mooring as it carries a huge load in far greater safety. It is very difficult/heavy for one person to lift aboard over the guard rail/wires and does not stow easily on the foredeck, in fact it taks up 3 times the volume of the Avon. It would however take a much larger engine with a solid transom and the floorboard give a far safer bottom for family etc.

The 2.3 Honda is good in that it's light and easily managed even by the small to average female, but I do have reservations about it. It's not as quiet as i would have hoped and it has a tiny fuel tank, so carrying fuel in a can for topping up is useful. It must be stowed either upright or only on one side to stop oil coming from the crankcase up into the bores. It has a centrifugal clutch making it an automatic.... open it up and the prop goes round. The prop goes only one way so you turn the engine around 180 deg. to go astern. It is air cooled so you can run it out of the water to tune it, test it and cut your legs off if not careful. As it has no water cooling it is not essential to run it in a fresh water tank, but to rinse it off after having salt water on it may keep things like the tilt mechanism from seizing up, which happened on mine last season. I know two other blokes owning the same typeof engine and we have all experienced them being difficult to start on the odd occasssion. I have found that to run the engine for about 30 sec's after turning off the fuel and closing the filler cap breather has mostly solved this and one other guy tried that and it seems favourable. They do not seem to like being flooded with the choke out when hot and they can kick back i.e. go solid on the pull start momentarily, a bit like the old Norton I used to ride, which had a kick like a muel on a bad day. Having said all that, I am now well used to its little foibles and if it were stolen I would probably replace it with the same.
 
Last edited:
jacko37 said:
hi all im new to this forum and boating so i hope to get some advice from you good people:),

i am looking into getting a 2.7m inflatable tender so the family and i can enjoy some time afloat at calshot and surrounding areas,and maybe do a spot of fishing away from the crowded beach.im only thinking of going offshore a few hundred metres so not far.

i would love to a know things before i go looking for a tender and outboard,

1: what floor is best for me slatted,boards or inflatable and whats the differences? pros n cons
2:inflatable keel what does this do and why?
3:what size outboard would i need for a 2.7m tender,im not looking to go fast just a steady pace on the solent would suit :)
4:makes of outboard what makes are reccomended

i know i wanna know alot but after looking through internet sites ive been confused lol:o
any advice would be greatfully received :)
if i have posted this topic in the wrong place sorry
Click to expand...
Go to the For Sale forum and bid him £500 for that little rib thats there! You will have to buy a trailer for about £150. Will do you just fine.
Stu
 
That boat looks absolutely perfect so long as you are OK carrying it inflated, and don't mind the weight.

We use a 3.1m RIB as a runabout in the Bay. We only have 6HP which makes it go like stink with only one aboard, and it will just get on the plane with two. 15HP may be more than you need for pottering.
 
An important fact is the max. nº of people ( & sizes thereof).
Our 2.6 Zodiac with 3.5hp can cope with 4 medium sized adults in calm water at low speed.
Jim
 
you might find a level floor more comfortable.. have a look at Honwave as an example of an aluminium floor.. though it puts the weight up of course.
Otherwise many small inflatables now have a insert airpad floor, and while not so rigid,they do have the advantage is that any water collects underneath it, rather than your feet paddling in 10cm of water all day !
The inflatable keel adds some directional stability.. otherwise its a bit like being on ice !
While transport might be a limiting factor, generally go for as big as you can possible manage..an inflatable can seem mighty small on the water. I'd also try to actually feel the weight of some of these outboards...carrying something awkward over the sand is very different to carrying something manageable in the carpark.
You can fit some small wheels to most inflatables, though these of course might not be much use in soft sand!
I ve a small 2.4m tender with a 2 stroke 3.3hp.. as a guide, on a strong ebb tide its almost debatable whether thats enough to HP to overcome the tide.
Mind you, last time I used the tender was with that Whisper bloke, who told me to row, while he sat smugly at the back watching the river drift by.
 
im not able to purchase a tender at the moment because ive only just bought new koi,:( (the boss has spoken lol)

so ill be asking more advice as i go along probably some stupid questions too i expect lol.
thanks all for the advice.

great forum by the way:)
 
[QUOTE/
Mind you, last time I used the tender was with that Whisper bloke, who told me to row, while he sat smugly at the back watching the river drift by.[/QUOTE]

I was doing him a favour as he looked as if he needed the exercise.
 
Buy a rigid tender. Some ars**ole put 2 in No .22 air-rifle pellets into my inflatable in Falmouth last xmas eve. I know the person who did it will read this. I will be returning to Falmouth.
 
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