OC Tenders - Review Anyone?

[Qismat]

I just put in an order for an OC300 last month, will be here in september. Can't wait.

[ohdrinkboy]

I talked with a guy in Charleston, SC that has an OC tender. He loved it. Also, remarked about how light it was. He had it stored on the foredeck.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Ifitsworthdoing

..
My particular circumstances are that my wife is a boating novice and has spinal injuries which necessitate the most stable dinghy tender platform I can get...

Ifitsworthdoing, I think that your wife's back problems will be aggravated by the hard ride of the flat bottomed OC and similar tenders. Sitting on a hard side deck or even seated at your side in a center console she will feel pain in every wave you hit.

Then adding all the extras you have mentioned you will have a very heavy boat, even more ponding, and lord help you if you ever have to pull that boat up a beach, even if it had wheels.

My recommendation, in all things nautical, is go simple and light. A good RIB with aDEEP V hull will offer a softer ride. Sitting on the tubes will provide a lot of cushioning.

For our own use we have a fully inflatable 12' Zodiac. We accept the compromise of a poor hull shape (the inflatable keel and floor is nowhere near as good as a deep v RIB) because it is much lighter and completely stowable, plus at 12' we can carry huge loads.

Don't get carried away with having the biggest, best, coolest dingy, it won't be as useful and your wife may suffer.

[Hoodsail]

I have a 9 ft zodiac that folds up with 3.5 hp mercury.....the only plane this dink is seeing is if I ship it somewhere....anyway, it carries 3 adults, so long as they are close to ideal body weight....the OC tenders look very nice, just curious what the retail on one is??? thnks

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Hoodsail

I have a 9 ft zodiac that folds up with 3.5 hp mercury.....the only plane this dink is seeing is if I ship it somewhere....anyway, it carries 3 adults, so long as they are close to ideal body weight....the OC tenders look very nice, just curious what the retail on one is??? thnks

In answer to your question, O.C. Tenders has a price list for each model on their website. The one I'd be interested in is the carbon fiber 330 ( a bit larger than your current boat but will handle a 15hp outboard. It costs $7,600 Usd which is about about a grand more than the equivalent Highfield but will last many times longer. The big downside with O.C. is the lead time - when people need a new dink, they need it now, not three months from now. If Russ were smart, he'd have a supply of his most popular model in stock and ready to ship. Even with the cost of airfreight (which has to cheaper than a dealer markup) you could have one in two to three days which means a lot more people wouldn't be buying Highfields.

Ps. Apparently O.C. Tenders has signed a deal with Outremer to supply a new dinghy with each new catamaran they sell. Outremer doesn't make near as many boats per year as Lagoon or Fountain Pajot but they do make a fair number of high end semi custom catamarans for those that can appreciate the difference and afford it. They are much larger than some of the South African semi custom builders like Knysna or St Francis.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

In answer to your question, O.C. Tenders has a price list for each model on their website. The one I'd be interested in is the carbon fiber 330 ( a bit larger than your current boat but will handle a 15hp outboard. It costs $7,600 Usd which is about about a grand more than the equivalent Highfield .

I never realised de-flateables were so expensive

Just looked, a 3.4m classic in Oz is around $4500 usd

[meury110]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

One being done in Langkawi, will try and find a pic

Here we go, about $3300 aud

any other link. and are these carbon fiber.

[Antipodean2]

G’day Meuri 110
What would you like to know I have a 3 metre OCTender
Very happy with it and have just added a hatch on the anchor well,

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I never realised de-flateables were so expensive

Just looked, a 3.4m classic in Oz is around $4500 usd

The price of dingies is unreal. I can't afford that.

But after becoming disgusted by endless leaks and other problems I just decided to replace my 13 year old 11.5ft Zodiac inflatable floor PVC dingy. It hasn't been a very good boat but I have got a lot of use from it and I appreciate its light weight, size and complete stowability.

What to buy? I don't have $5000 to spend.

I found a deal at Costco. For $778 I bought a new 11' PVC air floor dingy. It doesn't tick many boxes but it's cheap. Currently Costco offers the boat for even less.

For the last two months I've been preoccupied and that dingy has just sat there on deck on its bag but now I've inflated it and installed the wheels and lifting bridle. I'm impressed. It seems to be well done. And for the price, it is amazing.

I've still got some things to work through in my personal life but I hope soon to put the motor on it and try it out. If I get 2-3 years from this dingy I will be very happy with my choice.

Search the internet. There are some deals out there.

[Adelie]

Build yourself a nesting dinghy.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Build yourself a nesting dinghy.

Nesting dingies can be fantastic. Jim Brainard from Brainwaves built a PT 11 and it is amazing. It's light, fast and beautiful. I am so envious watching him sail around the anchorage

But it is tender, doesn't have much carrying capacity, and does not plane. Jim and Deb also have an inflatable for the more practical application. And it is not cheap.

So, if you have a shop and some time, and $5000 to spend, and don't object to having a dingy on deck (most don't). this is a great option.

But it does not solve the issue of needing a large capacity, faster, dingy for shore trips with four people, provisioning runs, and snorkeling adventures.

It's mostly a wonderful toy.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Nesting dingies can be fantastic. Jim Brainard from Brainwaves built a PT 11 and it is amazing. It's light, fast and beautiful. I am so envious watching him sail around the anchorage

But it is tender, doesn't have much carrying capacity, and does not plane. Jim and Deb also have an inflatable for the more practical application. And it is not cheap.

So, if you have a shop and some time, and $5000 to spend, and don't object to having a dingy on deck (most don't). this is a great option.

But it does not solve the issue of needing a large capacity, faster, dingy for shore trips with four people, provisioning runs, and snorkeling adventures.

It's mostly a wonderful toy.

Many of the hard dinghy designs out there (particularly nesting ones) don't plane, but you can get (or build) a hard dinghy that will plane. The biggest challenge with them is getting adequate weight capacity (particularly while keeping the size down) and then storing the thing when it's not in use (easier on some boats than others).

When it comes to durability and interior volume (relative to total size), it's tough to beat a hard dinghy if you can make one work for your needs. But if storing it becomes an issue or you need a ton of weight capacity, they unfortunately just don't work.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Build yourself a nesting dinghy.

My Chameleon dinghy. For practical use, I recommend the rowing/motoring version (without the sailing rig and foils) as you will have a much cheaper and simpler boat and will save a few pounds.

I spent around $3000 including the sailing rig and foils and some use of divinycell foam to reduce weight. Without the rig and foils it would have been around $2000. You save a sheet of plywood, a bunch of epoxy and fiberglass, the mast and sprit, the sail, the running rigging, and a lot of fussing around with the mast step and daggerboard case.

A shop as such is not strictly necessary. Some of the parts, like gunwales, are best cut on a table saw. Otherwise you mostly need space to work and clamps. In favorable climates people have built them outside.

[Bill O]

^^^Agree with Fred's comments on the hard nesting dinghy about carrying capacity and hard to get on plane w/2 people.

Our Spindrift 10' was great for rowing 1 person, stowed and towed well. While it suggests it can handle 3 people, will say they need to be very small or 1 adult and 2 children. We aren't big (average) and needed more free board while motor exploring. With 3 people or 2 w/provisions there isn't enough free broad to safely handle any type of chop and typically was a wet ride w/any chop. If we were to build one again, would add a min. 3" more free board.

After many years of use, we sold the nester and purchased a 12' inflatable mini cat. It truly comes up on plane w/a 5hp and 2 people w/gear. Has a much larger capacity, is faster and can do longer trips w/4 people (we purchased a larger 9.8hp to replace the 5hp).

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Nesting dingies can be fantastic. Jim Brainard from Brainwaves built a PT 11 and it is amazing. It's light, fast and beautiful. I am so envious watching him sail around the anchorage

But it is tender, doesn't have much carrying capacity, and does not plane [....]

But it does not solve the issue of needing a large capacity, faster, dingy for shore trips with four people, provisioning runs, and snorkeling adventures.

It's mostly a wonderful toy.

The PT-11 is a kit. With the (excellent) sailing rig and foils, it is the most expensive dinghy you can build. There are other choices from plans and in kit form.

I agree that under sail, these boats are indeed best understood as a wonderful toy. They're good as sail trainers and good for a lazy sail around the anchorage or along the shoreline. They're fun, and let you take chances getting closer to lee shores and running narrow channels than would be prudent with a large boat. Practical utility is limited under sail -- it's a sailing dinghy and so you and any crew have to be active and move around to balance the boat, and keep your weight low. This limits cargo capacity. You will probably get wet, etc.

Under oar or motor they are more practical and seaworthy, because you can sit up higher, use the cargo space, and keep the boat flat.