Rowing yacht tender.

[johnphilip]

Prompted by the current Yacht Tender thread but a bit of a sideways shift.
Equally fed up of un-rowable inflatables are there any that can be powered by oars, that you can pull without snapping what pass as rowlocks?
One requisite for rowing two people is that the rower has a bow position so the craft trims properly with the passenger in the stern. This applies equally to rigid dinghies.
Again are there any reasonably priced options we could carry on a 33' boat.
Rowing even against a moderate tide is easily achieved if the boat is level, the boat carries its way between strokes, unlike a normal inflatable or a small rigid dinghy with centre oars and stern passenger when the raised bow and dragging transom stops the forward motion at the end of each stroke.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Yes . I have an excel inflatable with the v shaped inflatable keel and it rows surprisingly well. Against that it is heavy, and excel themselves are a bit of a shower to deal with

The rowlocks? Well I am not a 20year old prop forward but I do use the rowing machines at the gym so I do put some load throught the rowlocks. It seems to be as well made as they come these days.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have 2 dinghies
One is a wetline which ought to be called "deathrace" as it is rubbish to row, It certainly will not carry the 3 persons it is graded for . 2 lightweights are the limit. The high sitting position means that on the backstroke the oars hit the knees & the blade catches the water. When alongside the yacht the boat bounces on the hull & pops the seat out. The seat is slippery varnished wood so one slips on it when rowing. The oars are fixed pivot & cannot be pushed outwards
I have given it to my daughter to get to our squib & she only uses it with a small outboard. Being much lighter she can carry a crew, but it is a bit precarious

The other is an aged Avon Redcrest -circa 45 years
I have rowed it miles & rarely use the outboard as it is so easy to row. If the knees are too high I just deflate the seat a little & sit slightly lower. The oars are wood & length of stroke can be adjusted. They feel much stronger
I usually row it on my own & it gets a lot harder with 3 on board but still quite do-able
Horrible to tow though unless I bring the bow right up to the deck at transom level with just the stern towing
Not too good with my seagull 40+ but several sailing club members use that combo ok