Tender recommendations please

[Nosealegsyet]

Looking for a tender guys, to get us from anchor to shore, nothing too fancy, and nothing too big, maybe enough for 3 would be ok, any suggestions guys? Dont want rubbish .thanks in advance

 

[Dino]

Buy an aluminium hull rib. I have a 2.9m Talamex which is great with a Tohatsu 9.8hp 2 stroke and I’ve had 4 adults in it to get ashore. It weighs in at under 100kg for my davits.
A lot depends on how you want to store it. If you have davits, check their rating.
There are higher end options from Highfield,etc.

 

[Hurricane]

My advice is get the biggest one that you can fit/handle with the biggest engine you can fit.

This is mine - a bit extreme but I think you will get my point:-





The small "V"s on the chocks are there as a resting place before dropping it fully into the chock.

Tenders generally end up "jack of all trades - master of none".
If you can fit a big one, it will be more useful.

The Novurania in the above photos isn't as fun as our previous tender - a Walker Bay - again with a bit engine.
The Walker Bay, though was much more fun.

Here they are both - sorry about the state of the boat's cockpit covers!!



I agree with Dino - if I were buying again, I would seriously consider aluminum.

 

[colhel]

Sorry to disagree with both Hurricane and Dino but I'd suggest something light that's easy to lift and handle The OP has a Merry Fisher (similar in size to our Nimbus) and is just discovering the Solent where long tender journeys aren't required. It would be fun to have something faster and more capable but IMHO it would be too much work on a smaller boat.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

What colhel said.

Biggest decision is whether you can store a rib (ie rigid) tender on your boat (lots of choice, an Alu hull rib eg Zodiac might suit). Or whether you have to deflate it for stowage, in which case small pack size and light weight start to be come very much more important. Look at 3D.

Second Q is the power. For most use cases and all but the longest journeys I'd suggest an electric o/b from e-Propulsion or Torqeedo.

 

[colhel]

We have a 3D tender as suggested by Scala. I bought a small car battery and a high speed pump as trying to pump it up on a slippery foredeck or in the saloon is a tad awkward ?. We normally though, just leave it inflated and tie onto our small swim platform. We did have davits but I removed them as they were something else to bang my head on.

 

[Portofino]

Sorry to disagree with both Hurricane and Dino but I'd suggest something light that's easy to lift and handle The OP has a Merry Fisher (similar in size to our Nimbus) and is just discovering the Solent where long tender journeys aren't required. It would be fun to have something faster and more capable but IMHO it would be too much work on a smaller boat.

This ^ ?.
The Ops opening post outlined the usage .

We have the same usage pattern btw , just getting ashore .Med summer so getting a wet arse is irrelevant.
Its done 4 adults and is a 2.2 but with a fibreglass V bottom ( sorry lads even my tenders V was considered ?)
We did have a slatted bottom roll up 2.4 for a family of 4 previously.But with a bigger boat against Hurricane s mantra we opted for smaller so we could use the swim ladder without removing the tender …when it’s just Mrs Porto and myself.
Passerelle acts as crane .


Another thing this mini Kota motor is heading for 15 yrs old .I have just replaced its ( normal car type lead acid ) batt a 55 Ah circa €55 from a supermarket. There wasn’t anything wrong with the old bat , just thought I was on borrowed time and the new one was on a clearance crate .



Rowed ashore here ^ .
Its a marked anchorage on a chart btw .Check your underwriters ( not the slick sale person at the brokers ) if you are actually covered if left unattended @ anchor BTW . Moot point I know .

 

[julians]

Inflatable kayak from decathlon. Cheap,packs down small, and surprisingly good. It works well as a tender on a small boat where compromises have to be made

 

[Farmer Piles]

2.6m Waveline, Honda 2.3 air cooled and pop it onto the swim platform like colhel. Bought the lot S/H via FB locally for under £600 - both in brilliant nick. Cheap and simple.

 

[baily]

2.6m Waveline, Honda 2.3 air cooled and pop it onto the swim platform like colhel. Bought the lot S/H via FB locally for under £600 - both in brilliant nick. Cheap and simple.

Looking for a tender guys, to get us from anchor to shore, nothing too fancy, and nothing too big, maybe enough for 3 would be ok, any suggestions guys? Dont want rubbish .thanks in advance

Have a look at Boatworld do a good selection and reasonable price

 

[dustywings]

Lots to choose from but when we had the Riva 38 we had an Excel SL290 which was very well built and great value...but as I say probably one of many to go for.

 

[ashtead]

Being based in West Sussex you might consider ordering a super light tender on line from marina superstore and collecting . I am told by someone who bought one at weekend they are lightweight versions compared to his previous zodiac type . Whether the lightweight ones are robust enough I don’t know. I guess you usage might be from say east head in chi to the beach etc . For what is worth we have a larger quicksilver which takes 4 plus a dog plus a smaller 2.3 seago supported by a blow up canoe and a couple of paddle boards care of decathlon.

 

[ST840]

I have an excel (285?) with a 5hp 2 stroke tohatsu. Goes like stink 1 up, and pushes 7 knts 2 up. Great fun.
My boat is 8.4m

 

[PeterMax]

Have a look at Boatworld do a good selection and reasonable price

Two years ago during lockdown I bought a Boatworld 3.3m inflatable and 2.5hp Orca kit they were selling for about £750, mainly because they had stock and it was cheap. I use it as a tender in Queenborough, dinghy is huge but it takes a good load, motor is too small but it potters along. Both have lasted well so far, touch wood. The Orcas are big solid motors, no grief with it yet apart from dirty fuel and running out of juice every now and then and rowing against the tide in the Swale! Tow it behind the boat when sailing. If I had a choice again I would go for about a 2.6-2.8m dinghy, can take 4 people and some load, 3-5hp motor, something like Boatworld Air Deck 270 Inflatable Flat Air Deck Boats | Boatworld UK

 

[PalmaTarga]

+1 for anything alu hulled. We managed to find a new Ribeye 260 (which I dont think are made anymore). Really solid boat that only weight 30kg and runs well with 4 adults and en E-propulsion motor (again, very light).

 

[colhel]

Inflatable kayak from decathlon. Cheap,packs down small, and surprisingly good. It works well as a tender on a small boat where compromises have to be made

We've got one but we use it for fun rather than transport because we get wet everytime we use it. Also if out of your depth and you tip over, they're extremely difficult to get back in, as is a dinghy of course, but they're a lot more stable

 

[Bandit]

Talamex dinghies are good robust dinghies foe a good price main distributor is Barrus but distributed by a lot of chandleries.

 

[Keith-i]

Have had Seago and Waveline over the years which have been fine but they all eventually die from UV degradation of the PVC. My latest is a Talamex, also PVC but seems well built and designed for the money.

 

[henryf]

I was just about to reply but noticed the OP hasn’t been back on so little point….

As you can see from the wide variety of responses the first thing we need to know is what boat is it going on.

Henry

 

[julians]

I was just about to reply but noticed the OP hasn’t been back on so little point….

As you can see from the wide variety of responses the first thing we need to know is what boat is it going on.

Henry

Its going on a quicksilver 855 weekend - hence my recommendation for an inflatable kayak, but I guess you could get away with a really small inflatable and outboard.