Looking for a small low cost tender.. Suggestions?

[wipe_out]

Hi All,

We are moving the boat to a swing mooring and while there is a water taxi service available I would also like a small tender with an outboard to use when the taxi isn't available or to head to the beach when anchored anywhere.. Needs to carry at least 2 but preferably 3 people and a bit of gear and must be able to be packed up into the boot of the car or stowed somewhere on board because there isn't much of a swim platform on the 26ft boat..

Which of the budget brands are reasonably good and which should be avoided?

Is a small (2.5hp) outboard capable of doing the job in less than ideal conditions or is it always best to put the maximum rated hp the tender will take for when the wind and water kicks up a bit?

Having never owned an inflatable of any description any advice is appreciated..

 

[prv]

Which of the budget brands are reasonably good and which should be avoided?

I don't think there's much to choose between mid-to-low-end PVC inflatables, to be honest. They're probably all made in the same Chinese factory and then have different badges glued on.

Make your mind up about size, type of floor, etc and then pick whoever's doing the best deal that week.

Pete

 

[longjohnsilver]

My preference would be to look around for a decent secondhand Avon, Zodiac or Honwave, all much better quality. I have a variety of outboards including an ever reliable (and extremely light) 2hp Yamaha which is great in calm, flat conditions, but for any tide or waves it would be pretty useless, then I'd be looking at a 4hp, again a secondhand 2 stroke is IMHO the best bet due to being much lighter than a 4stroke equivalent. You should pick up a decent on for around £250. If you can find a good Yamaha, Tohatsu or Mariner so much the better.

 

[Ripster]

Be worth considering if weight and storage are your priority or you would rather have toughness and heavy duty. We had a Honwave - excellent tender, well made, good on the water, but it weighed a ton over 40kg and was a git to fold up and even then was huge to store when folded.We changed it for a 3D - 15kg, folds down small, dead easy to handleby comparison. But it is not as strong, has smaller tubes, so is a wetter ride in chop and has no V floor. Its fine as a tender and suits us as we wanted light weight and compact. Our 2.5hp Suzuki suits it fine (5 knots or so) and we have carried 3 adults without issue.

Hi All,

We are moving the boat to a swing mooring and while there is a water taxi service available I would also like a small tender with an outboard to use when the taxi isn't available or to head to the beach when anchored anywhere.. Needs to carry at least 2 but preferably 3 people and a bit of gear and must be able to be packed up into the boot of the car or stowed somewhere on board because there isn't much of a swim platform on the 26ft boat..

Which of the budget brands are reasonably good and which should be avoided?

Is a small (2.5hp) outboard capable of doing the job in less than ideal conditions or is it always best to put the maximum rated hp the tender will take for when the wind and water kicks up a bit?

Having never owned an inflatable of any description any advice is appreciated..

 

[bush boat]

For weight, compactness I don't think you could beat a 3D. Love mine, and it's not Chinese with a badge stuck on!

 

[desperatelyseeking]

We also have a 27ft boat (Cranchi CSL 27). We need a tender to get to and from beaches in Sardinia where we keep it. I have a Honwave T20 being the smallest i could find with a Honda 2.3hp on the back. IMHO small petrol outboards are a pain. If you are just using it for very short periods of time, I can recommend a Torqueedo portable engine. Folds up into a bag, zero maintenance, no petrol to fiddle about with and you just lift the battery off an take it home to charge. It works perfectly - no pulling at starter cords. Really changed my boating experience and never once had any "range anxiety" as we only use it for trips from the anchorage to shore and back (although takes about 3 return trips when we have 8 on board, cool boxes, sun umbrellas, towel bags etc). It 's brilliant. My only regret with the boat is that I have to lift the tender up onto the sunpad when we are going along - I wish the bathing platform was just that bit longer that you could leave it on the back. Maybe another thread, anyone know of a bathing platform extending company? I'd love to have an extending platform in the same way as a cockpit table works.

 

[Sheppy]

For weight, compactness I don't think you could beat a 3D. Love mine, and it's not Chinese with a badge stuck on!

I looked at these at the last PSP show and was very impressed with the light weight but worry about the PVC quality, and I'm sure he said they were Chinese? Where do you think they're made?

 

[bush boat]

I looked at these at the last PSP show and was very impressed with the light weight but worry about the PVC quality, and I'm sure he said they were Chinese? Where do you think they're made?

My apologies to all. It would appear that I do have a Chinese manufactured RIB !!(http://www.3dtender.com/files/101/rib_magazine_review.pdf), I think I was misled by the fact that the material used in their construction is German. Suppose you could say it's of mixed parentage. Just to be clear, I still think it's a great little tender for the money. Only time will tell regarding the quality of the material but it does seem pretty tough stuff and gets good reviews.

 

[landlockedpirate]

With the exception of the Zodiac group, I think you find it difficult to find any small sib that isnt made in China.

 

[wipe_out]

Thanks for all the comments.. Think I have pretty much decided on a small SunSport SF220.. Seems to be a good size having a little more beam than the other budget brands and larger tubes too.. Will drop on a 3.5hp engine which means assembled I should be able to manhandle it by myself..