Which is the best foldable tender?

lyralicious

lyralicious

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11 May 2005
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Location
Thailand. Recovering from what felt like the longe
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We're fed up with our inherited tender (flat-bottomed Plastimo 'blancmange' which only works in flat calm conditions) and know that as we travel east will need something a trifle more substantial. As we are an over-rigged ketch with practically no deck room and as we do not want davits it seems we have two options:

1. A fully inflatable dinghy which will fold away in a bag for passage making, but with a V hull and more robust than our current model;
2. A foldable rigid (non-inflatable) dinghy which we can secure along the guardrail whilst sailing

A 'Banana boat' has been recommended, which we've seen attached to guardrails with some success. Are they any good? Does anyone know the website for this boat?. What other options are there? Does anyone have experience of anything similar which will do the job?

Cheers
 
I have an inflatable tender " Waveline" 2.9 m with a V inflatable keel and inflatable floor. I have a 4 stroke 6 ph engine; it will plane and I have used it frequently during very rough weather without problem. Because of the V keel, it will row very well and has good directional stability. It will fold nicely. Modern tenders are very robust and at approx £400 its an excellent piece of kit.
 
Look at the Avon Rib Rover lite. As live aboard cruisers we use ours regularly and I can't speak highly enough of it. Planes easily, stows very nicely and it should be on you list of boats to consider.

Paul
 
We have used a 'Seahopper' wooden folding tender for the last four years on our journey from the UK to Turkey. Purchased used from a boat jumble. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros

1. It rows really well - we hardly ever use the outboard - hence saving money and all the messing about with lifting it on and off and re-fuelling it.

2. It goes really well with just a 2Hp outboard. Almost planing with just one person aboard.

3. Two of us can easily just lift it bow first up over the top guard wire to get it on deck (I have done it on my own but two people is a lot easier) - We lift it aboard every night and so we never worry about it being stolen at night - plus we are ready to go in a hurry.

4. People always stop to chat about it as it is so much nicer to look at than all the rubber do-nuts.

5. It easily stows away flat (size of a surfboard) for longer passages - we leave it assembled on deck of our 33 footer the rest of the summer.

6. We can sail it - we don't much but when we do it is fun and makes everyone else in the anchorage jealous!

7. We have not had to throw it away after a few years due to UV damage (unlike an inflateable).

8. We can carry a huge load - two people plus 100+kg of water and shopping is easy.

9. We never get a wet bum!

10. You get a lot more room in a 2 metre folding dinghy than you do in a 2 metre inflatable one.

11. When tied to a quay alongside rubber do-nuts they will always be stolen first as they are far easier to sell on.

Cons

1. You have to really think about how to tie it alongside quays - we use fenders plus a bow and stern line but some quays are very low and rough and the dinghy corners are always vulnerable.

2. We have to stick a couple of coats of varnish on its bottom every year due to dragging up beaches.

3. If you don't cover it whilst on deck during the day then you will have to varnish the inside a bit too often to.

When we first left we thought we had made a bad decision but four years later we realise that it has been the right one.

Hope this helps.

Chris
S/V Vonasi
 
Here are a few interesting (I think) sites :

Origami folding dinghies - http://www.woodenwidget.com/

And Fyne boat kits also sell Origamis - http://www.fyneboatkits.com/trolleyed/4/98/index.htm

Portabote folding dinghies - http://www.porta-bote.com/

If you have approx 4 1/2' of deck available, here are some interesting nesting dinghies :

9' Spindrift - http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/spin.htm
Nestaway pram - http://www.nestawayboats.com/

This 10' Nicholls dinghy stows in 5'8" - http://www.niccollslite.net/page3.html

Here is a Chameleon that nests in 4'9" - http://www.yachtvalhalla.net/gecko/gecko.html

Using the basic Chameleon concept I also built a couple of smaller (7'6") prams that will stow in 4' of length - they will carry 2 people, row well but are a bit tippy.....
 
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