Tender Size

Playtime

Playtime

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 Jan 2007
Messages
1,194
Location
Chichester
Visit site
I'm the proud owner of a Zodiac 2.85m airdeck tender. However, now there are only 2 of us on board (the children have recently 'flown') it is too big/heavy for easy use.

What length/weight do the panel think is ideal for cruising for 2 (almost) pensioners?
 
Watch out for the ones with small sponsons. They are light & handy, but guests will always end up with a wet bum when they sit on the side floats. I had to buy a second pillow seat for mine to stop the girls wetting their pants when out with me. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
These two pensioners use an Avon Redstart which is tiny but rows well and has good-sized tubes. A prime requirement was light weight and foldability, which ruled out the transomed types. We sometimes put the floor in. Perfectly adequate for us, and trips such as from the Bag to Town at Salcombe.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Watch out for the ones with small sponsons.

[/ QUOTE ]

What is a sponson, in the context of a tender?

[/ QUOTE ]

The side tubes are often called sponsons, hence the wet bum syndrome if they are small diameter.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Watch out for the ones with small sponsons.

[/ QUOTE ]

What is a sponson, in the context of a tender?

[/ QUOTE ]

The side tubes are often called sponsons, hence the wet bum syndrome if they are small diameter.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aha! The Hondas have big fat tubes /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Well we are both card carrying buspass holders but not yet drawing pensions and can still manage our Zodiac 2.85 Fastroller airdeck quite well! We still lift it over the rails onto the foredeck by hand although we could always pull it up on a halyard if needs be. Personally I would miss the extra stability going to a smaller tender.
 
2.3m is ideal length for two with shopping, but I doubt you'll find much reduction in weight for an annex of comparable build-quality.

You'll also find it's a bit slower.

All-in-all I'd advise leaving things be and use the spinnaker halyard to get it on deck.
 
I have an Avon 2.7 hard-transom which is fine for ferrying kit to the mooring, but its a heavy beast for dragging on deck. It has inverted several times when towed so I bought a cheap H20 2.3 with a transom which is lightweight enough for me to get over the wires on my own. The Avon now stays on the mooring and the H20 goes with me, rolled up.
I guess the answer to the original question depends on how many crew there are normally and do you intend towing, leaving or bringing on-board either on davits or deflated.
 
I dont have one yet, but it looks fairly easy for two people, of even limited strength to get a reasonably sized dinghy, (with outboard), on board, with one of Salty Johns "get your dinghy on board" gizmos.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Why oh why dont most yachts have davits.

[/ QUOTE ]

Price; Difficulty in fitting to certain boats; Additional length hence cost in marina; Additional weight at stern - that's just for starters
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why oh why dont most yachts have davits.

[/ QUOTE ]

Price; Difficulty in fitting to certain boats; Additional length hence cost in marina; Additional weight at stern - that's just for starters

[/ QUOTE ]

Mine are home designed and built. They U-bolt to the pushpit so that the load is spread to more points. Total cost of materials (30mm x 2.5mm SS tubes) less than €60.

I don't know about elsewhere but I have never been charged extra. If a marina refuses to accept the LOA that is on my Certificate of Registration, I would go somewhere else.

My tender is a rigid GRP dinghy (also self-designed and built) weighs just under 47 kilos. That is practically 2/3 of what I weigh. Should I therefore avoid staying near the ends of my boat?

With respect, I do think that too much is repeated about 'weight at the end of the boat'; perhaps this is a carry-over from the days when boats had narrow, pinched, ends Don't most people happily keep their outboards and kedges c/w rodes right aft? I know I do and have always done so - with no ill effects that I can think of.
 
Whatever you go for, look carefully at the rollocks. On my Zodiac Cadet, the most highly stressed part is a plastic pin with a screw in it as reinforcement. If you lean on the oars a bit - and you have to with flat bottomed inflatables - they distort and jam. I've got a pin broken off in one of mine, so I couldn't row it if the outboard decided not to play. That and wet feet apart, 2,3m is just right for two people.

Pay extra for the inflatable floor model - they plane better under power, you've got a chance of rowing in a straight line and you may even keep your feet dry.
 
Thanks guys - I think the consensus (for two feeble geriatrics anyway) is 2.3/2.4m.
Anyone want a one careful owner, hardly used Zodiac 2.85 Aerodeck?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Why oh why dont most yachts have davits.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, Searush indeed does have davits. Stainless ones. I can see them clearly from here languishing on the driveway behind my caravan. One day I may decide to try fitting them, but not now, dear. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top