Water tender 9.4?

[onestepcsy37]

we've had a watertender 9.4 for eight years. bought it one year old for $250. the admiral prefers it to the inflatable which i've kept folded on deck for many years now.

i have a 3hp yamaha 2 stroke on it, which will plane me (190lbs) when i'm alone. it also rows really well with one person, but it's tough getting a good seating position with two, although i've done it many times. we always tow it in the icw and the bahamas, but put it on deck when crossing the gulf stream. luckily, it actually fits flat on deck on my csy 37. i use the staysail halyard to pick it up and put it back.

got a couple of watertender stories.

we were going ashore through a heavy chop in the exumas, wife in the front well and me in the back, engine running. in these conditions, we both sit in the 'footwells' to keep weight low. normally i sit in the rear footwell and she sits on the center seat. at one point she decided to lean forward over the bow (still don't know why). the bow dipped under and the entire boat immediately filled with water up to the gunwhales. but she was still floating level and the engine was still running. i immediately shut down the engine. we were sitting waist deep in water. got out the bailing bucket and bailed like mad. soon we had most of the water out and continued on to shore.

there was a terrific rainstorm one night while we were anchored in the exumas. but when i got up in the morning i looked up at the sky and it was bright blue. i looked down to check my dinghy. she was full of water - clean rainwater. so i told my wife to get the laundry and some liquid detergent. i washed the clothes in the back footwell, rinsed it in the front footwell, and handed it up to her to hang on the lifelines.

coming in to treasure cay (abacos) at low tide, i misjudged the channel and ran into a sand bank. i quickly put her in reverse, not even looking behind me to check the dinghy. then i turned a quick left and gave her some power and we were back in the main channel. that's when my crew said 'look behind you'. i looked and saw the watertender upside down and running just beneath the surface. no place to stop in the channel so i had to just keep going up into the anchorage area, about a quarter mile ahead, towing the upside down submerged dinghy behind me. after we anchored we righted the dinghy, hauled her up by the stern with the staysail halyard and opened the drain plug (in the bow on the watertender) to remove all the water it had taken on while being towed underwater. no problem.

the good. it's inexpensive, almost indestructable, can be bottom painted, tows and rows really well. never worry about it when tying to docks or rocks. never worry about punctures.

the bad. unless you can store it on deck you need to always tow it or get davits. friend of mine has his on davits. at 100lbs i don't think you'd need superstrong davits.

i keep telling myself i need something better, but i've yet to find anything better, at least for my requirements.

[scoobert]

i have made many decisions this year when it comes to gear choice, but i must say, this is the hardest one.

[Krogensailor]

Esthetics are a part of why I'm drawn to sailing, and I wince at pure function with beauty thrown under the bus. I'm on a refit (rebuild) budget on my KK38 and have decided to build my own dingy. I ordered the Wooden Boat plans for a 9'6' Nutshell. I built an 8'er for our 33' Cheoy Lee years ago and found it to be a great tender. Cost will be about $700. $1000 with sail rig. Probably smart to keep the varnished seats and trim to a minimum to ward off theft, but I know I won't be able to resist some shine.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Krogensailor

Esthetics are a part of why I'm drawn to sailing, and I wince at pure function with beauty thrown under the bus.

i just do not want it stolen. i want to anchor off NYC, dingy to the shore, tie it up, and find it when i return. same with any major city.

[Krogensailor]

I had my Cheoy Lee for seventeen years and traveled the ICW half a dozen times. Philly to the Keys. The first year we had an avon, it was old and tired, so I built the 8' nutshell. It was well finished , varnish and mahogany, etc. Most of the time it had a British Seagull 2hp on the back and I don't think anyone looked at it except to admire it. I think the those that would steal a dingy are not generally interested in hard dinks. You can't deflate them and put then in your trunk. They are pretty distinctive. If you paint the details, seat knees etc, it still looks good. As said we will have a larger dink 9'6 Nutshell and probably a 10' inflatable. the later for my wife. I like rowing and sailing.

[scoobert]

i stumbled on these today...
Porta Bote | The Unique Folding Boat

[bobconnie]

We have been useing hard dinks for ever! only had one ribby in almost 50 yrs od cruiseing. Did not care for the rib, love my hard dinks have a 12 ft one now, with oars and sail rig. It's great and I don't have to lic it as it is not engine powerd!! But when ya leave US waters Ive found no ones said anything when I use it with a outboard! I always stored it on the fore deck useing my anchor winch that had a ****** head, made it a one man job ! Hard dinks are never stolden, to heavy, hard to hide, ours is painted with blaze orange stripes on a white hull! Damn hard to steal something that glows in any light !! LOL Hard dinks for me ! just my 2 cents and as big as ya can lift on deck !