Walker Bay for tender?

[Observer]

I'm thinking about the Walker Bay 10F dinghy as a tender for our new boat (Atlantic 42). Seems quite a nice idea to add an extra dimension to the kids entertainment.

Does anyone have any experience of these boats or have views about them either way?

Is it worth going for the high performance sail pack (5.5 sq.m. main + 1.4 sq.m. jib and 5.1m mast instead of 4.6 sq.m. main on 4.5m mast)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[EdWingfield]

I have a WB10.

It is beautiful to row but to sail you need to be a contortionist. The boom is very low. When sailing you need to sit in the bilge! Going about is like a yoga exercise! The sailing performance is quite good. But for mucking about locally you have the bother of a dagger board. I'd rather have a centre-board for pottering.

No reefing possible.

 

[Observer]

Does that mean low like a Laser - or lower than that?

 

[fireball]

Not bad as a tender - a bit tippy really - should've got the RID for it ... but that doubles the cost!

Probably worth considering a tinker at that price...

 

[Gin]

I think the weight of it is similar to my 8' TEPCO which is a handful to store vertically in the Club rack- horizontal on a trolley etc. would be OK.

Think carefully about how much manhandling ashore is needed

 

[Observer]

To explain a bit more, I want a tender to keep on davits. Beam of the mother boat is 4.25m so 10ft tender should be no problem. The alternative is a RIB with up to 15hp motor - possibly good fun, but so is sailing a dinghy.

If I go for the Walker Bay, I could have up to 6hp motor (with the tubes). The sailing rig adds another dimension to keep me and the children and guests amused.

 

[looly]

Hi

We've just opted for the walker bay with the non performance sail (ie. no boom). It certainly lives up to its non performance name, and won't sail to windward or much else, but it is fun and at least you don't have to be a contortionist.

It really does row well and we are about to go for the tubes so we can have a bit more stability (and a larger motor if required).
I have to say, I love the idea of the versatility of the walker bay - it seems to tick most boxes.
We are setting sail for an extended 3 year cruise next May so hope we've made the right decision.

 

[tritonofnor]

Walker Bay's a fine boat, but I personally would rather have a Tinker. My last one did 14 years with me, and is still doing stirling service (around the med with a mate) at nearly twenty years old! Sailing performance isn't bad (relatively!), and I davit mounted mine with a strop through the transom and a ring bolt through the floor near the bow

 

[nigelhudson]

We have a Walker Bay 8 with the single sail set-up inc boom. The 8 is too small for a tender in my opinion as it is only rated at 2 person - we use an inflatable. However it is a great boat for a child to learn to sail in sheltered water. The sailing performance is good considering the simplicity of rig - it points well. I cannot sail it as the boom is too low - nothing to do with my middle-aged frame of course!

Walker Bays are rather expensive for what they are but I managed to get mine secondhand. You may get a better deal by importing it direct from the States. They are quite robust and, as they are polypropylene they are reasonably UV resistant if they are stored outside.

 

[ytd]

a friend has a walker bay 10 with the tubes and I have used it a few times. It sails and rows well. The boom is low but not impossible. You can easily lift it over your head when you tack. In the end we got a RIB because it was lighter and had much greater carrying capacity than the walker, even with the tubes. You would be hard pressed to manhandle the walker by yourself but the RIB is OK.