Would this 'folder 'make a good tender?

[Babylon]

What do folks reckon on a folding tender with a tarpaulin skin?

I'm looking at making the Fliptail 7: http://www.woodenwidget.com/fliptailspecs.htm

I like the idea of a tender I can easily un/fold on the foredeck of my 27 footer, which is quick and light to launch and recover, and which can:

* take my 2.5hp 2-stroke outboard
* row much better than an inflatable
* sail with a slightly modified Opi rig and lee-boards

Will it be robust enough? What about additional buoyancy?

(Before anyone says it, I've got an inflatable deep in the cockpit locker, but I find it a shag to get out and inflate/deflate, and they only work with outboards.)

 

[rob2]

I suspect that in 90% of cases it will be very handy, but I'd be wary of carrying anything too heavy in it (like a 100aH battery or an anchor) and may not prove dog friendly. But then, I don't like carrying those sort of things in an inflatable either! The PVC cloth should be as durable as the tubes of an inflatable.

Please let us all know how it goes - it's rather a tempting idea.

Rob.

 

[Croak]

* sail with a slightly modified Opi rig and lee-boards

I can't see it taking the stresses of sailing.

 

[Croak]

.

 

[lw395]

I would be concerned that it has no buoyancy if swamped.
As a minimum for a tender, I think it should support the outboard and have enough flotation left to cling to.
Depends where you are going to use it, but I use inflatables in places like Salcombe, Fowey or the moorings outside Yarmouth, where you can get the odd big wave. (Big when you are in a small tender that is!).

I would also want to be assured that it is robust enough. Tenders tend to get crammed around the jetty in many places. Rubber dubs and GRP tenders are made for this, other people will not expect your tender to be fragile. It can be a bit of a bunfight getting your tender out of the mess of moored tenders, it may be dark, things get shoved around. Some landing stages are quite rough, damage could happen if your tender is not tough enough.
Quite possible it is tough enough, modern materials and all that.

I quite fancy the concept of a tender that can be sailed.
Being able to sail into town when moored a mile up the estuary at Salcombe for instance.

 

[DanTribe]

I used to have a similar Prout folding tender, always known as the canvas bucket.
It was handy but in a very limited way.
You couldn't safely use it in boisterous conditions or if you had far to row.
"Interesting" with two people in it.
You usually ended up with a wet bum.
Because you sat on the floor it was hard on your back and leg muscles [even when I was young.
You couldn't use an outboard [not even a Seagull]
Quite good fun until the novelty wears off [soon] but an inflatable is much more practical.