Tenders What do you like?

[Althebass]

I built a nesting Spindrift 10 as a tender for our 32' yacht. It's a sailing version. Great fun, stable, rows and sails well. The dog and I have raced it in a couple of luggers races.

For the past year we've used a Foldable RIB (F-RIB) and prefer it. Extremely stable, tows and rows well. Our 9' version planes with a 6hp outboard if just me onboard. Ours is a sailing version too which is great for teaching the grandchildren to sail as it is so safe and stable. It stows under the boom or on the foredeck. Very simple to inflate and deflate.

In the summer we crewed for a friend in Falmouth Classics and used a slightly larger F-RIB 330 (10'6") as a tender to and from the mooring. Four adults, luggage and this one was propelled by an electric outboard!

I might sell the Spindrift if anyone is interested.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

That's not a dinghy, that's a budget cruising boat!

Jim

LOL, well said, Jim!

I'm pretty happy with my Spindrift catamaran-style rowing dinghy:

https://paddlesteam.com.au/product/2...ndrift-dinghy/

It just fits on deck between the inner forestay and the mast cage. Easy to row and very stable (for two adults max). I haven't tried boarding it from the water yet, as I might need some rope ladder first.
Oh, and I believe it's unsinkable, too, having sealed off volumes of air in the bow and as part of the seat.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Benz

These very limitations of most hard dinghies are what led me to design and build my own. It has broad bows, for seakindlyness, and plenty of freeboard for cargo capacity. At 9 feet, it stows on the house aft of the mast (cutter rig, of course), but can carry all five of us in comfort, though the comfort is less as the children grow. I don't think our surf landings were any less squirrely than they would have been in a similar-sized inflatable, but again, I designed it to stay dry.
I do know that I've gotten a lot wetter motoring into chop in an inflatable than rowing into in in the dinghy (which is why a lot of people prefer to stand in their inflatables when it's choppy out. No need for that in a proper hard dink.)
I admit that rowing a dinghy well takes practice, but after five years of life aboard with our hard dinghy, I would never go back to an inflatable. My next boat, being bigger, will have a similar carbon/epoxy rowing/sailing tender, but 12 feet long.

Have you got flotation in it? One essential feature for me, for any tender of any type, is that it should be unsinkable. It's just too easy to get swamped by the odd wave, even in a larger hard dinghy. People could die if you get swamped and the tender sinks.

But I hear where you're coming from -- I would LOVE to have a good rowing hard dinghy as a tender, with proper long oars, if the other problems could be solved. I don't think it takes all that much skill, to row a good rowboat. It's fun, healthy, quiet, simple, and economical. A good rowing hard dinghy doesn't require much engine power, either, if you mount an outboard for longer distances.

I have such a rowboat at my lake house -- 16 feet long, light, fine hull, long wooden oars. In calm weather, I can row even three or four passengers in it for pretty long distances, almost effortlessly.

[rotorman]

+1 for Spindrift. I have built a 11N.

http://rotorman.hu/image_viewer.php?...im00006650.jpg

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by RobTryon

We used to prefer inflatables for our tenders, but we went through three of them in ten years -- and we weren't buying PVC crap. Two Avons -- a 10-ft sport boat and a 12 foot cruisers tender -- and an Achilles sport boat... Over a decade of hard use -- from 'big sand' up in Alaska to San Diego, countless beach landings, hard sailing, and more capsizes than I care to admit -- we've replaced the sail once, the mast twice and the rudder three times. Last week, I finished Blue Moon's third 'refit' -- repairing some spots and painting. Now she's ready for another 11 years of the 'Rob treatment'!

Hi! Congratulation but what I would really like it's a roll-in transom! My question is therefore: What is the SMALLEST sailboat that can have an opening transom for let say a 9' dinghy ? Spindrift | B&B Yacht Designs Also, a SAILING dinghy is a great tool when you anchor far from shore & you don't want to use an outboard engine
Cheers!

[zeehag]

i used to be really happy with my puffboats then rigid puffboats, ending with a caribe 9 vee hull with a 15 hp johnson.... worked like a flying dream......
then i came out cruising.... i use a walker bay 10 and oars. i donot have issues with theft or relocation of my dinghy, while those with puff boats and engines must triple lock all times except specified areas of this planet.
life out here rocks. the heavy stuff unable to be carried in a puff boat with puff floor(yup had one of those also) travels well in my wb10.
i get to sleep at night

[Althebass]

Tender, lean and tall

-man, I'm gonna tell you my story
-go on and tell about it, go on and tell about it more
-just what I've been doing
-what you've been doing, ry?
-well, you know I used to be particular about the womens that I picked
-aha!
-yeah! They used to be tender, lean and tall, that's all
-but the way things has been going, i'll take 'em knock-kneed and bow-legged
-what?
-i'll even take 'em bald! Man. I'll tell you why
-please, tell me why!

Every woman I know is crazy 'bout an automobile - Ry Cooder

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

That's not a dinghy, that's a budget cruising boat!

Jim

Yep, but it is our car/truck and what you need when loading up with a couple of months supplies and punching a few miles back to the boat in 25 knots - and stay dry.

Or running out an 80lb stern anchor - doubt an inflateable or small dinghy would have liked that task.

On a nice day we have even left the big boat anchored and ran a 35mile round trip back to the mainland to pick up stuff.

We have had many boats and cruised with smaller tenders and they were OK............ until they weren't and when they weren't it could so easily have ended in disaster.

Our needs (not wants) in a dinghy are clearly different to others.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Have you got flotation in it? One essential feature for me, for any tender of any type, is that it should be unsinkable. It's just too easy to get swamped by the odd wave, even in a larger hard dinghy. People could die if you get swamped and the tender sinks.

But I hear where you're coming from -- I would LOVE to have a good rowing hard dinghy as a tender, with proper long oars, if the other problems could be solved. I don't think it takes all that much skill, to row a good rowboat. It's fun, healthy, quiet, simple, and economical. A good rowing hard dinghy doesn't require much engine power, either, if you mount an outboard for longer distances.

I have such a rowboat at my lake house -- 16 feet long, light, fine hull, long wooden oars. In calm weather, I can row even three or four passengers in it for pretty long distances, almost effortlessly.

The transom, seats, foredeck and gunnels are foam-cored, certainly enough flotation to keep it from going to the bottom. I haven't experimented with swamping on purpose, but it's on my to-do list for next summer

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

Our plan is take a run up the Kimberly, maybe not for a few years now. We lived in the NT for some years and a tinny was the go for sure. We ran into rocks and branches all the time.

The boat collars look good in the video but I've never seen one in the flesh and I've tried twice to go and have a look at the workshops but they didn't have one to look at.

My worry is that the collars might get chewed up on rocks and oysters or just a jetty.

Lived out at Howard Springs for 7 years and as you say tinny's everywhere,
also spent a lot of years pearling in the Kimberley's (lived on Cockatoo Is for a couple of years to) and very rare to see anything other than tinny's getting around for the reasons you mention and more....i was thinking about the collar to protect the sides of the big boat but will probably just stick with the fenders which we use at present...

[BigBeakie]

We've had inflatables. But for cruising we looked really hard for something that would tick all the boxes:
1. Carry a load for SCUBA diving and easy to enter from water
2. Efficient motoring
3. Easy to row
4. Good sailing
5 Light but tough for beaching

Long story short, couldn't find it. So as you do, had it designed to meet our criteria. I'm currently building it, flat panels infused from foam & epoxy. Super easy and material cost about AUD $1,400

Some nice features such as:
* sliding Gunter rig Main + Jib 6sqm stores in lockable side lockers
* unsinkable with built in floatation
* front deck boarding ladder
* skeg takes beaching wheels
* large front locker storage lockable
* 650w solar panel sun bimini for 6kW e-propulsion electric outboard & removes for davit storage where it charges house bank!

What do you think?

[t3c9]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Hard and inflatable dinghies aren't all that much substitutes for each other. Hard dinghies row vastly better and wear better. But small hard dinghies of a size possible to stow on a cruising boat (10 - 11 feet or so or less) are no good for use in surf or other situations where swamping is a risk. They are not as stable, can't carry as much, and you need to worry about scratching your topsides with them. You can't deflate them for storage.

If I had unlimited room (ha), I would have one of each. I would want a hard dinghy which is long enough to be reasonably stable, with a fairly fine hull for speed under oars. Maybe 15 feet. Maybe with some kind of sailing rig. And then a RIB for more everyday duties.

I used a hard dinghy for years as a harbor tender, when I had a river mooring. It was great not to worry about a motor, and it was delightful to row, but I was always afraid of tipping it over or getting swamped.

Only 1 foot shy of a Laser

[El Pinguino]

My previous dinghy was the smallest one Achilles made... in Japan...

20 years heavy usage... gave to a chum... he is still using her..

Replaced with same model... made in China... in service in mid 2016... already having minor issues.... securing straps on the inflation plugs (?) carrying away.... bottom boards warping and the rivets holding the bottom boards together failing.... that took 15 years on the last one...



I am seeing an awful lot of Highfields out there........ dunno how they will last...

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by BigBeakie

We've had inflatables. But for cruising we looked really hard for something that would tick all the boxes:
1. Carry a load for SCUBA diving and easy to enter from water
2. Efficient motoring
3. Easy to row
4. Good sailing
5 Light but tough for beaching

Long story short, couldn't find it. So as you do, had it designed to meet our criteria. I'm currently building it, flat panels infused from foam & epoxy. Super easy and material cost about AUD $1,400

Some nice features such as:
* sliding Gunter rig Main + Jib 6sqm stores in lockable side lockers
* unsinkable with built in floatation
* front deck boarding ladder
* skeg takes beaching wheels
* large front locker storage lockable
* 650w solar panel sun bimini for 6kW e-propulsion electric outboard & removes for davit storage where it charges house bank!

What do you think?

It looks like a big tender. What is the OAL and beam?

Thanks to my skills, if I were to attempt to build one, I am pretty sure I would get one of the hulls backwards or upside down.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by RobTryon

We used to prefer inflatables for our tenders, but we went through three of them in ten years -- and we weren't buying PVC crap. Two Avons -- a 10-ft sport boat and a 12 foot cruisers tender -- and an Achilles sport boat.
We just killed those boats. Hard daily use and the 'Rob treatment' meant that we spent ten grand on rubber boats. These are good boats that usually last decades.My wife's Dad has had an Avon for over 30 years. We also carried an 8-ft sailing pram as our 'second car'.
So eleven years ago we were house sitting one winter in Gig Harbor Wa. for some folks who had mooring ball outside and a wood shop in the basement. I asked Gerry if I could build a boat and he said as long as it would fit through the shop's doors (to get it out), I could build whatever I wanted.
Our friend Jon Eisberg, had built a 9-ft Spindrift nesting dinghy that turned out beautifully. It looked like it had come off a showroom floor! I was inspired, but wanted something bigger. I settled on the 11-ft version because, when nested, it would fit perfectly under our boats boom.
Spindrift | B&B Yacht Designs
After four months and $2500 in materials (I overbuilt it because of how hard I am on things), we had a beautiful finished boat...that I now had to cut in half with a $10 saw! I had to ask my wife's Dad to start the cutting because I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Over a decade of hard use -- from 'big sand' up in Alaska to San Diego, countless beach landings, hard sailing, and more capsizes than I care to admit -- we've replaced the sail once, the mast twice and the rudder three times. Last week, I finished Blue Moon's third 'refit' -- repairing some spots and painting. Now she's ready for another 11 years of the 'Rob treatment'!

That's terrific. But all we have is an old Puffin 8 1/2. Much to our surprise the company is back in business. Our Puffin would be of no interest to anyone wanting to jet around the anchorage at 30 mph but for us it's been a great little unit.