Which is the best 2.7m tender????

[sailingrbg]

Can anyone advise

I am currently looking to replace an ageing Zodiac dinghy and am wondering if I should go for another Zodiac or the Waveline. The slatted 2.6 m roll up currently comes in for about £649 where as the Waveline comes in about £349. AS this is for a tender for a small yacht and you be mainly rolled up on the fore deck can anyone advise if they have either and what they think of them.
I am also considering the airdeck for the wave line but don't know how easier or bulky this would be to roll up and store. Additionally the 2.6m Zodiac is marketed as a roll up if you have this model how do you find it?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance or advice offered

Have seen the Sailing today 10 best tenders earlier this year and Waveline came out as best budget buy

 

[Robin2]

I have a 3m Zodiac that is bout 5 years old. The rowlocks are crap, and would probably put me off buying another Zodiac (unless they have changed the design).

Apart from that I'm delighted with it - but I leave it inflated all the time so can't comment on roll-up-ability.

I have an inflatable floor and, in my view, its worth every penny. It is so much stiffer than the slatted wooden floors, or even the ones with three or four large wood panels that effectively give a full wooden floor.

 

[toad]

I have a 2.6 roll up Zodiac of about three years old. The good points, it rolls up quite compact, it has good sized tubes, it is well made and it looks good. The bad points, the material is very thin and punchers easy, the oar mountings for both rowing and stowage are crap and the lifting handles are in the wrong place if you have a small outboard on the back. Would I buy another ? no. I spoke to a inflatable repair center about having handles glued to the rear tubes and he would not recommend it due to the poor quality material not taking the load. If buying again I would put the money towards a second hand Avon or just buy a cheapo and change it every few years. Interestedly the repair center would not give me a trade in on the Zodiac but offered me £100 on a 20 year old Avon redseal donut.

 

[gjgm]

back at the boatshow, we looked over every tender we could find. Seemed to me the cheap ones, really were cheap, and at the other end, you are talking almost industrial.
Quicksilver,Honda and Suzumar seemed good quality, at a middle of the road price, and I thought Tohatsu had same quality, but at a better price. That was an airdeck, and I dont have any complaints.
I suspect that its the rolling and unrolling that causes wear and tear, more than leaving it pumped up. If its for very occasional use, maybe the cheapo will do, but if its a bit more regular, I'd be inclined to spend a bit more and look at the Tohatsu