Tender for small boat

I blow up my Redstart on the foredeck. It can't be done lying flat because of the babystay and has to be lifted on it's side as it inflates but it's easy enough. When deflated it stores between mast and sprayhood, lashed to the grab rails.

I would definitely recommend the Avon though obviously only if you can get one at the right price! They're tough as old boots and mine is at least 15 years old, still unpatched.
 
When I was on Spiekeroog someone had an AX2 in the harbour & I borrowed it to see if it fitted on the foredeck. It fitted exactly fully inflated upside down with the bow forward the wooden transom touching the tabernackle - a perfect fit

I dont have a picture of this, but here is Bulli on Spiekeroog
BulliinSpiekeroog.jpg
 
Couple of general comments. Rigid stern dinghies with slat floors can be rolled up tight - but it takes time. And it can be done on board - carefully. I used the foredeck on my W25' and the top of the aft cabin on my Pentland. Anything towed, rubber/ grp or wood is a disaster waiting to happen in bad weather. Inflatables must be deflated & lashed down at F5 coz if it gets to F6 it will lift out of the water and flip at the first opportunity.

I use the main boat to get ashore whenever I can. Choose your times & tie to any wall/ railings/ quayside available. If possible see it at low water first, if not ask the local harbourmaster/ boaters if there are any hazards.

Benefits of tying alongside include less risk of falling in, easy to load stores, and no dinghy to inflate. On some trips the dinghy is used only to get to the mooring, rest of the time it is stored. We have even been known to swim ashore if the anchorage is sheltered and the weather is warm.
 
my father allways used to tow a plywood dinghy behind his small yachts. i can still vividly recall seing them surf past us on the end of a long painter going downwind in any sort of sea.Going upwind they never caused any bother even in bad weather.
Also remember hanging precariously over the rail with a bucket trying to bail the punt out before it sank and snapped the painter.Inflatables in those days were hideously expensive

towing a dinghy outside sheltered waters is character building stuff.
 
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I am thinking of buying a small inflatable tender suitable for carrying three people and something that a) won't stretch the already meager budget and b) won't take up much space on a 23' boat. I don't need an engine, just muscle power.


Any suggestions or experience?

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I who also have owned a couple of dingys in plastic before and last summer lost a Zodiac hanging in 5 rings in the davits (F 5-6)- is also in the same situation.
I have on the 31st of Dec 06 and 2:nd of Jan 07 in this forum raised the theme inflatable vs foldable. Have a look and see if you want to reformulate your question.

Now handling inflatables in any weather over F4 is a challenge;
- A lot of spraywater and you need to be naken or oilskinned - and as said - all bailing...., This said is with or without engine - instead of going against you often tack at 50-60 degrees only in order to avoid spraywater.
- Very hard to handle - as said - without engine power (I let my girl friend out rowing alone on try in F2 once...I picked her up ½M away..),
- It takes a lot more engine power to plane than most hard tenders? Some of the fold boat producers argue for this.
- Very difficult to lift - as said cant stay in water in bad weather - without davits due to big surfaces and also surprisingly heavy.
- Where store it? Having it inflated on deck is a severe set back of the functionality onboard the average boat. The fold boat producers claims that a fold boat is easy to fold down and stowe away along railing taking no more space than a surfing board.

Never mind weather one must have in mind getting the wrong raft everyday life can be connected to a gluing/welding project due to leaking seams an "items that wants to separate from the raft". Especially UV radiation can do a lot of damage. Of course the big advantage with an inflatable is not causing severe damages on hull...
 
Inflatable ... of course as a rigid is going to be a drag to "drag" around.
Get one without hard plate transom - they fold better when half deflated and lashed to foredeck.
Forget stock oars ... get a second-hand set of normal rigid dinghy oars - they are longer and give much better rowing and control on boat.
Outboard .. small 2 - 3Hp is fine and will get you through most.(Better hurry up before all 2nd hand 2 strokes are history !!)
Inflator ... tenner from local camping shop ... with last few stokes from foot bellows.

Biggest advantage ... Even full of water - they will still float and get you home. Having been storm bound in Yarmouth Hbr some years ago - I was very glad to have an inflatable and not a rigid ... I could get off the boat to the pub knowing dinghy would float whatever.

What do I have ? £250 bought me an Avon Redstart with Johnson 4.5 o/board. Its patched but fine ... in fact has outlived 2 o/board engine brackets .... it's now on its 3rd .... I now use a 2.5 Mariner on it as the 4.5 was too much.
I have also a rigid two piece ply floor that I can put in if needed as the old slat floor is cr*p. But then you can't roll it up.
 
Some good responses... here's my twopennyworth.
Round-tail rubadubs are fine for rowing short stretches, but my experience is that the small ones don't fit well with outboards on a bracket. The weight is too far aft, which means when the driver goes back to sort the ob the nose comes up dangerously. With a transom at least the sponson extensions keep the tender stable.
I had an Achilles round tail which fitted onto the foredeck of a Hurley 22 and deflated would go down the forehatch in its bag. It could be blown up on deck and chucked over the side over the guardwire.
When I put my replacement 30 footer on a swinging mooring the Achilles wasn't up to ferrying water, batteries and all the domestic kit.
I bought a £100 second hand Avon rollaway, replaced the three valves and chucked the solid ply floors in favour of Ikea bed-slats. I also spent some readies on a pair of transom wheels as I have to manhandle the tender on my own.
I spent extra on the Avon as it has to live in the open under a hedge most of the year and the Hypalon will last better than PVC.
The Avon can be left on the mooring or towed for a longer trip... I just have to discipline myself to take the ob off and empty it. So far its not flipped, but...

The only downside has been touched on by others... I won't go out in any wind without an outboard. Rowing against anything above F4 is a no-no.
 
Wt aft ...

I agree that sponson equipped hard transom inflatables are more able to take weight at aft end ... but often you see a large o/board on back of some of these roundtails and that is most of the problem. I took of the 4.5 because a) it was far too powerful and b) because of the weight. The little Mariner now used is ample and I'm 100kg fatty and can work on engine at stern ...
Yes I do tend to carry heavy stuff fwd to balance out my bulk .. and I also try to use a stick to extend the tiller arm. None of your fancy Chandlers stuff .. a bit of small bore drain pipe that slips over end of tiller bar. The little Mariner has a throttle via the front panel so twist-grip control not req'd.
 
This may be just what you need. When our Quicksilver with Honda 2 HP 4-stroke was stolen, we replaced it with an Avon Redstart and a tatty Yamaha 2 HP 2-stroke. Much lighter, much easier to stow, even on our 48 footer space is at a premium and a bl**ody transom makes folding it into a reasonably small package almost impossible, so went for the donut type. The Avon had no outboard bracket when it came, but a friend who is good at welding SS made us one. Also, the donut type is not very sexy as it can never plane, just as well, makes it less prone to nicking. That's why the coice of a tatty outboard was very deliberate.

cheers
 
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