Lightweight aluminium rib tenders

[dj43]

Hi looking at a Highfied aluminium tender, anyone with any experience with these, good or bad,

 

[Seastoke]

Hi looking at a Highfied aluminium tender, anyone with any experience with these, good or bad,

What weight are they and what size

 

[Hurricane]

I have a couple of yachtie friends with them and they are very pleased.

 

[RupertW]

I have a now two year old 2.6m AB Ultralight and it is great for lifting onto the foredeck and planes with our occasionally used 5hp outboard unlike the heavy 3m Caribe fibreglass rib we had before - but is a bit tippy when you step onto a side.

 

[Seastoke]

I have a now two year old 2.6m AB Ultralight and it is great for lifting onto the foredeck and planes with our occasionally used 5hp outboard unlike the heavy 3m Caribe fibreglass rib we had before - but is a bit tippy when you step onto a side.

What’s a ab ultralight

 

[Greg2]

We have a couple of Highfields at work, primarily because my research indicated that the would be a good option for our needs and several years on that has proved to be the case. Well built and durable bits of kit.

We have an AB with an Ali hull - also excellent boats. First came across them when we had one as a tender when sailing in the BVI and was very impressed - so much so that we bought one.

 

[Bajansailor]

What’s a ab ultralight

A relatively light AB rigid hull inflatable dinghy?

Leisure | AB Inflatables

 

[vas]

fwiw, I had a look at a couple of s/h ones (sorry don't remember brand)
Looked well put together, BUT both of them at around 10yo had signs of corrosion where the hull meets the transom. One was repaired (not v.elegantly)
As a result the tube to hull bond wasn't looking that good. Didn't see them in the water, just on their trailers.

V.

 

[Bouba]

I have one, a 2.7 (?) I’m very happy with it, it has nice features such as a keel protector so you can drag it up a beach. Nice and light for lifting by crane. My advice, get one with the self draining floor. I didn’t because it’s fractionally heavier but the floor of mine is slippery (especially for dogs) and at an angle. So I built a floor for it, it’s very nice but I’d been happier not to have made the effort. Second, due to price I got PVC tubes, but it makes me very anal about covering the thing up from the sun. I wish I’d bitten the bullet and got Hypalon

 

[nauticalnomad]

AB are brilliant.. I had a 3.2 Rib and put a 15hp 2 stroke on it. The thing flys. They are lightweight.

 

[dj43]

Thanks for the replys , the one we are looking at is approx 3m ,bench seat plus two stroke outboard , double lined floor approx

150 kg , corrosion I suspect could be a problem as mentioned , stability that's also a concern of mine , Gala do a 3.3 Similar one ,

The Highfeild one has the two stock engine ,so should go well ,

 

[Beamishken]

We have a 2.8m ribeye aluminium tender which we realy like, its actually lighter than our previous excell air deck. Its about 8 - 10 years old and no sign of any noticeable corrosion yet it does tip further than the excell when you put weight on 1 side when its empty but I think thats due to the deeper vee than the airdeck once its loaded and underway its better in every respect . We deliberately bought without the flat floor section to get as light as possible so you are walking in the vee but not a major issue. Water does collect in the vee but we keep a sponge tied in to bail it out. I'd definitely have another

 

[RupertW]

Thanks for the replys , the one we are looking at is approx 3m ,bench seat plus two stroke outboard , double lined floor approx

150 kg , corrosion I suspect could be a problem as mentioned , stability that's also a concern of mine , Gala do a 3.3 Similar one ,

The Highfeild one has the two stock engine ,so should go well ,

I presume the 150kg includes the engine - but even so the 3m AB weighs 43kg, so the extra 100 plus kilos seems extraordinary.

 

[BruceK]

Thanks for the replys , the one we are looking at is approx 3m ,bench seat plus two stroke outboard , double lined floor approx

150 kg , corrosion I suspect could be a problem as mentioned , stability that's also a concern of mine , Gala do a 3.3 Similar one ,

The Highfeild one has the two stock engine ,so should go well ,

150 kg is really heavy. The latest 2.80 ali hulled ribs for tender use are coming in at ~40kg

EDIT Rupert beat me to it.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I have one, a 2.7 (?) I’m very happy with it, it has nice features such as a keel protector so you can drag it up a beach. Nice and light for lifting by crane. My advice, get one with the self draining floor. I didn’t because it’s fractionally heavier but the floor of mine is slippery (especially for dogs) and at an angle. So I built a floor for it, it’s very nice but I’d been happier not to have made the effort. Second, due to price I got PVC tubes, but it makes me very anal about covering the thing up from the sun. I wish I’d bitten the bullet and got Hypalon

so you made the wrong choice? Why go for pvc where the sun always shines? Sorry, don’t mean to be harsh, we all made mistakes and even after 35 years of boating I seem to make more now than ever before. Must be getting old.

I’ve heard good reports about 3D ribs, extensive choice of materials and sizes. Could be tempted to change my old Avon hypalon rib, but even after 12 years it’s still got plenty of life left.

 

[dj43]

I thought PVC construction of tubes was on par with Hypalon these days, or am I missing something,

 

[Bouba]

so you made the wrong choice? Why go for pvc where the sun always shines? Sorry, don’t mean to be harsh, we all made mistakes and even after 35 years of boating I seem to make more now than ever before. Must be getting old.

I’ve heard good reports about 3D ribs, extensive choice of materials and sizes. Could be tempted to change my old Avon hypalon rib, but even after 12 years it’s still got plenty of life left.

Remember the tender is one of the last purchases. Such huge amounts of money had been going out that I was looking for savings. And, as always, that leads to false economies ?

 

[BruceK]

Remember the tender is one of the last purchases. Such huge amounts of money had been going out that I was looking for savings. And, as always, that leads to false economies ?

I think you stress too much. I know this is not the Med but this raggedy old PVC tender is well over 20 years old and probably pushing 30 but she doesn't leak one iota of air in a season (I in fact let air out as ambient temps rise) and requires a top up at the end of winter after garage storage. The rubber trimmings have had to be re-glued countless times but the PVC has proved indestructible and she goes on the boat uncovered. All the stories about lasting 5 years, pfff, it's done an awful lot better than a permanently covered Avon in hypolon, half it's age that requires pumping on a weekly basis. So a cover when long term on the boat is hardly a heartache.

 

[Madeo]

I bought a Highfield* in the West Indies (after having greatly underestimated the importance of a good dinghy!) and have found it excellent.
*Exchanged by the chandlery for a Caribe which started to disintegrate after a few weeks' use!

 

[Seastoke]

I think you stress too much. I know this is not the Med but this raggedy old PVC tender is well over 20 years old and probably pushing 30 but she doesn't leak one iota of air in a season (I in fact let air out as ambient temps rise) and requires a top up at the end of winter after garage storage. The rubber trimmings have had to be re-glued countless times but the PVC has proved indestructible and she goes on the boat uncovered. All the stories about lasting 5 years, pfff, it's done an awful lot better than a permanently covered Avon in hypolon, half it's age that requires pumping on a weekly basis. So a cover when long term on the boat is hardly a heartache.

if you are the guy in the tender , you must have bought it when you was forty , so what did you have before.