why give up deck space to store air?

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Looking for my next boat all I see is a reduction in deck space in order to fit a garage to store a tender e.g. Air. What is going on? I use my tender 4 or 5 times a year, it's a fold up in a bag job (285 zodiac airdeck) that is stored away until required, why give up all that space which is far more functional on a daily basis than a dinghy, or is it a cheap option to fit on a large chunk of fibreglass and call it trendy.

With today's technology I would expect a system that inflates and deflates the tender on demand, with it stored on a tray type contraption to save space. It is hard looking for a boat that increases my existing deck space, we are already at 50ft to break even, that should be the minimum size with a garage IMHO. Let's hope Princess can come up with something.
 
Yes, but lots of people do use their tenders regularly and like to leave it all set up and the outboard attached, particularly if the outboard is a bit more powerful and therefore heavier. There is normally a sun pad on top of the garage so it serves two purposes, and is particularly suitable for warmer climates where most boats are sold.

If you don't want a garage there are some makes that don't have them, some Sunseekers for example. Others have two layouts so you can choose if you want the garage or not, eg. Princess V42 and the new Windy 52.
 
We use our 3.5 rib (30hp) extensively, off davits. She's ready to go with motor on. We anchor at night a quite often. Marina's can be rather cluttered urban environments, it's nice to get away from it all sometimes, and that is where the anchor and RIB are handy. Most of my mobo pals cling to marina only berths and never stay on their hook at night - they are missing out on so much, IMHO.

There are fundamental layout design differences between boats designed for the med and UK coastal waters. Davits in the med are a total no-go area due to stern in mooring, so garages which I agree waste space are more the norm there. Not our cup of tea. Atlantic, Broom, Linseen, etc, are more our bag in this torrid damp climate.

We always moor bow in to marina berths a) for aft cabin and cockpit privacy b) view out from aft cabin windows, and c) access to RIB, davits and bathing platform from the water.
 
was re-reading the test report on the Windy 52 over breakfast this morning as it happens,and they were saying it was indeed one of the few that gives you the option of garage or deck space. Wow, what a boat. Wow, what a price!!
 
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why give up all that space which is far more functional on a daily basis than a dinghy

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Maybe to stop people from 'storing' the dinghy loose in the engine room? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
It's personal choice, I bought a boat to be on it, never had the urge to go ashore into the crowds I want to get away from. My boat is self sufficient, generator, fridges, BBQ, bar, toilet, shower, bathing platform, bow sun cushions, what on earth would I want to use a dinghy to go ashore for?

My boat is fast enough to have speed and fun, perhaps some need their dinghy to get a thrill, if so as I said it is a personal choice, just not for me.

I have used mine on the odd occassions, it's there if required. As I said, you pay all that money for a useful deck area to be filled with a cheapo grp box that stores an inflated dinghy. I personaly don't like davits and will never ever have them on any boat I buy, so at the moment I am stuck with my AVL fast inflator until the designers get their fingers out and make something sensible.

At least with the other 99.9% of the time I don't require a dinghy I have the luxury of loads of deck space, I have the forward sun cushions and the rear cockpit area will adapt with a filler cushion to allow 3 to lie down but hardly ever used, makes more sense to me for my circumstances.
 
As with all things to do with boats, it depends on what you want to use the boat for. We like to anchor over night, or to use mooring buoys in places like Salcombe, and like the flexibility of having the tender to go ashore for provisions, pubs, restaurants etc rather than waiting ages for water taxis. We also use the dinghy for watersports, taking the dog ashore, and for exploring up rivers and estuaries when it would be impossible or impractical to take the main boat.
 
Hydraulic bathing platforms are another option. Obviously on smaller models, you lose the majority of the platform and are forced to launch the tender. ss portofino 46, good example. pred75 and pred68 also good examples of different tender housing options on similar sized boats. If using the tender as a liferaft..it's more use on the platfrom than in the garage?, imho.
 
I agree, but I am not up estuary's every day, my dog is dead, my boat is a water sporters dream, nor do I go ashore in a dinghy to a restaurant, so inflating it 5 times a year and perhaps leaving it up for the odd night suits me.

I would rather have the luxury of the space and if an estuary looked that appealing I would drive to it in my car and blow up the dinghy there. There are tons of places to take a dinghy in your car, far more interesting than what you would come across by boat, and I don't have tender garage in my car before you ask :-)
 
I agree with you. Tender garages are a complete pain IMHO. They waste cockpit space and restrict access to the engines, sometimes severely. Also they're often not big enough for a decent sized tender and often badly designed so launching and stowing the tender is a huge effort. Much better to have davits or have the dinghy stowed on the bathing platform from where it can be much more easily handled by a crane or passarelle
Btw I guess you will use your dinghy more as you visit different places. There are plenty of harbours worth visiting without marinas and for which a dinghy is essential
 
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'It's personal choice, I bought a boat to be on it, never had the urge to go ashore into the crowds I want to get away from. My boat is self sufficient, generator, fridges, BBQ, bar, toilet, shower, bathing platform, bow sun cushions, what on earth would I want to use a dinghy to go ashore for?'

Everyone to his own; for many of us, the joy of having a boat is in the people it introduces us to and the places it takes us to. It's our magic carpet. Having taken a larger boat with my family to the Eastern Med. for two years I can say we chose to use our anchor a lot more than marina berths. I believe that gave us more experience of a country than the ubiquitous marinas. Back in this country, although it's more crowded on the South coast, we still do the same for choice unless stocking up with water, fuel and stores. That has given us mostly wonderful experiences. The fact that YOUR boat is also self-contained would enable you to sit in splendid isolation on an anchor so you could more easily avoid the riff-raff you obviously don't like to meet, I would have thought?
Your choice but at least it's one less boat in an anchorage from our point of view.
 
I am looking for a bit more space, but when looking you don't seem to get that much more for loads more money, you need to go 50ft and above to make a real difference. I have only noticed this when looking at 43 and 47ft boats, they seem to have an extra set of heads and a tender garage, but no more real room for the bucks, this is causing me a problem because I am spoilt with what I have. I have to deal with the dinghy situation but I have that in hand, as has been said, everyone to their own this is just my opinion from what I have seen and opened it up for discussion, I am sure with some more searching and help from here I will find what I am looking for.

I just want the perfect solution of a quick inflating and deflating stored tender that takes up little room and enables the outboard to be stored with it, perhaps a I can't pretend it's not a pain taking my dinghy in and out, but my bathing platform is large enough for it to be stored on short term.

I did say it was MY opinion so interested to find how other like minded people cope. My friend who bought the V48 can't quite fit a 280 dinghy or Williams RIB in fully inflated, he's not too happy at that as it needs partly deflating and trying to find his own solution.
 
Surely this is not a thread about whether it is better to stay in a marina or anchor and use the tender. It is about the waste of space that is the tender garage on many modern boats.

We kept our tender on davits - the expensive Simpson type with extending arms. Then I looked astern when we were in some real rough stuff and saw what was happening and didn't fancy the worry of the extra stresses at the blunt end. Davits went and we now have an inflatable dinghy that lives on board. It is inflated whenever we want to go ashore and is then deflated and stored.

We are not using the tender every week. Sometimes we will spend several days at anchor and not need or want to go ashore. Surprisingly we still have friends! They bring their boats and raft alongside.

As we have never owned a tender garage I cannot speak about the adequacies or otherwise of how they work but I have never seen anyone attempt to use one whilst we have been anchored. I am sure many people do use them and are glad they have them. However when for most people space onboard is a key issue, the tender garage just seems to be an oddity.

All my own opinion, of course.
 
Thanks for bringing in some sanity /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I DO anchor up and I DO have friends, and on occassions I DO inflate my dinghy, BUT I DO NOT want to spend £200,000 + more for an extra heads and a tender garage that takes away my social seating that I sit at with FRIENDS /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Maybe for those that indulge in other swapping activities bed space is more important, but definately NOT on MY boat /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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