Tender - what to choose

[Redline452]

I have a Zodiac YL310 (1.3 m, 10 foot) with a 15HP outboard. During the sailing season it lives on "davits" (hoisted from stern arch). though for short daysails I sometimes tow it.

For off-season I store it inverted on deck ahead of the mast. Motor is hoisted via folding crane on the arch and stows on the stern rail (tip: the four-part tackle is extra long so after the big boat is hauled and on its cradle, I can lower the outboard to the ground to put it in the car).

For getting the dinghy on/off deck I use the spinnaker halyard, either vertically from the bow tow eye or, more recently hoisting it level with a bridle. I've done both single-handed, but that involves a lot of running back and forth from the winch to un-snagging the dinghy from the lifelines, then getting it lined up (the wind never seems to help). Two or more people make it much easier.
The YL310 is great for us (two adults and a young teen), can carry 4 if not too much baggage.

[Joie de Vivre]

Inflatables can be fine for some but they’re not for me. I prefer a hard dinghy. Tubes take up space, are not as forgiving, and eventually leak. A hard dink can last forever, rows better, and can sport a sail option. Walker Bay
For OP’s intended uses, a porta-bote could also work well. The big one has an 807lb / 5 person capacity yet fits on the side deck when when folded.

Another thought is a nesting dinghy. All the benefits of a hard dink, half the deck space. There are multiple threads on CF.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Joie de Vivre

Inflatables can be fine for some but they’re not for me. I prefer a hard dinghy. Tubes take up space, are not as forgiving, and eventually leak. A hard dink can last forever, rows better, and can sport a sail option. Walker Bay
For OP’s intended uses, a porta-bote could also work well. The big one has an 807lb / 5 person capacity yet fits on the side deck when when folded.

Another thought is a nesting dinghy. All the benefits of a hard dink, half the deck space. There are multiple threads on CF.

I have used inflatables for the last 30 years. My present one is was bought new in 2007. It has no patches. The one prior I sold after ten years and it also had no patches. If you are careful they last a long time. I have had hard dinghies before then.

IMO inflatables are better. I have always had roll-ups with removable floors and flat bottoms. They have higher initial stability, they store away in a locker for long passages so they are completely out of the way. I also like small engines - easy to handle without a crane. I realize that with a family of five and a dog the dinghies that I use are unsuitable for the OP.

If you look at the dinghy docks in popular cruiser destinations inflatable outnumber hard dinks by at least 20 to 1. All those cruisers can't be wrong.

[Torsten Hansen]

I would take a look at the TruKit catamaran inflatables from New Zealand. It sounds like their Discovery 400 model would be just right for you. They are light weight, fast and very stable. The 400 supports a 15 horse outboard

[JMR1138]

We have a 50' sloop on the great lakes and travel with a family of 4 and a large dog. We've also had three tenders on two boats during this time.

What didn't work for us
1) A west marine 8' with a 3.3hp 2 stroke. Slow, took time to fold and unfold, too flimsy to risk with the full crew and dog.
2) A a soft brig with a neat inflatable floor and a 15hp. Much more fun, but wet and a little unstable unless on full plane.

What did/is working
3) Goldilocks for us is a Zodiac Cadet 360 UL. This version has two removeable seats, no console, etc. We all fit with room to spare and the 15hp planes and moves really nicely. The UL stands for ultralight and this huge dingy weighs right around 100# all in. Less than our Brig and only a bit more than the teeny west marine one.

As for where to put it in passage, we never tow. It takes no time at all to hoist to the foredeck with a halyard and it gives you a chance to clean the bottom. The 15hp is the only hard part and once you've got that down its a snap.

I think I paid 2k for mine from Craigslist, but a new one is around 3k.

Have fun!
Mike

[capnorv]

With a boat that size, you have so many options. I have a little 45' and I carry five auxillary craft. Two 10' plastic West marine kayaks outside the lifelines on the stern quarter underneath the solar panels, one 14' kayak outside the lifelines in the forward quarter, a 8.5' three piece floored dirigible you under the mid bow seat, and a 10' hard dinghy on davits off the stern. Enough for the whole family. I'd post a picture, but I don't know how. FYI, I only use oars, but have been thinking of getting an electric outboard.

[Shaneesprit]

I have a smaller boat than you but, I had a nice but heavy Honwave, no floor, but i found it too heavy especially if going up on to a beach and two of us carrying it. So I sold it and now have an old Avon without transom, and rather than tow it, I just lift it out and tie it on the front deck. You could always avoid the rib and lift out with a halyard.

[argonauta1]

OK, a 50 footer. Only option to towing is onboard forward of the mast. Measure the distance from just ahead of the foot of the mast to the first fixed obstruction such as an inner forestay. That distance becomes the maximum length of your tender. Rib is my preferred option. Forget the fancy console and steer from the stern. You need two outboards: one for distance/speed and one for putt putting to a dock.

[Joe K.]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been sailing on Lake Erie in a 36 foot sailboat for the past eight years. We have a West-Marine model PHP 310 PVC air floor dinghy that is just over 10 feet long, with a 6hp 4-stroke Mercury outboard. According to the specs, maximum capacity is 5 adults with light gear, total 1,322 lbs. It’s real comfortable with two or three people with normal gear. Five people would be a stretch and only good for short hops like from a boat in the harbor to the dock. It would be a tight fit for all those bodies.

We use our dinghy a lot, almost every time we go out for the weekend. Our boat has always been the most used at our club and we are on her every weekend of the season including many long weekends or weeklong trips. We have become quite proficient at reefing our sails and handling breezes up to 30 kn, so we go out in most conditions, but we draw the line at 4-foot seas.

We almost always tow the dinghy behind us, with the outboard on a dinghy bracket on the pushpit. We used to manhandle the 57-pound outboard into place, but a few years back we bought a dinghy hoist from Garhauer and are very happy with it. We are comfortable towing up to about 17 or 18 kn of wind and 2-3 foot seas. Any more than that, and we flip the dinghy upside down and lash it to the foredeck fully inflated with a couple of dock lines. It’s 73 lbs and easy enough for the Admiral and I to lift it up over the lifelines at midships using a boat hook to pull it up and then our arms to lift it over and flip it. No need for a halyard, but that would be no problem either. We are in our late 50’s and in reasonable physical shape.

You get good at metering out the right amount of tow line from the leeward corner of the transom so that the dinghy rides smooth and quietly in the sailboat’s wake. We lash down the dink’s fuel tank and anchor in the bow of the dink to help keep her nose from flying up excessively in waves and wind. If we are worried at all about the dink flipping, we lash her down to the foredeck.

My biggest complaint about the air floor is it can be difficult to get boat up on a plane. We can get her on a plane with two adults and minimal gear, but any more than that, and the dink is a displacement hull. Not a huge bummer, just slow for what we want to do sometimes if we are covering a long distance and want to get there fast.

This is the second PVC inflatable that I’ve had and I’ve had two 65 pound labrador retrievers jumping up and down, and in and out of the dinghy. You don’t have to worry about the dogs nails puncturing the PVC. That’s not gonna happen. Not even a scratch, and labs are rambunctious.

I would rather have a rib for the easier planing and greater maneuverability. However, that would make it more cumbersome to flip up on the foredeck. So it’s a compromise.

Another benefit of the air floor is you can take it far up shallow rivers. Many times we have gently scraped or dragged the dinghy over smooth rocks,gravel and sand, with not even a scratch. The bottom is flexible and just conforms to the rock or log and easily slides over it.

Hope this helps, good luck on your decision.

Joe

[Joe K.]

http://https://share.icloud.com/phot...milion_Lagoons

This is our West-Marine 310 PHP dinghy with a 6 hp Mercury outboard.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0tIG...milion_Lagoons

[evm1024]

I've been following this thread with interest. We are also interested in getting a new dinghy and are going through all the gyrations of thought that we see in the prior pages.

Currently we have a Zodiac Cadet 310 Alu. THis is the one with aluminum floor panels rather than a RIB. It is a PVC boat.

We will be joining the HaHa this year and we could just keep the 310 and use it till it falls apart in the tropical sun then pick up another boat. Or we could replace it before getting out of Dodge.

In either case we run up to the choice of get a PVC boat and take care of it and replace if if it fails before we are done cruising or spend more upfront for a Hypalon boat. I keep going in circles with the tradeoffs. Of course paying more up front buys us less complications mid cruise.

My short list is the Highfield UL340 in Hypalon.

We did cruise with a (zodiac) Zoom 340S for many years in the PNW and Canada. I really liked the size and stability.

[Joe K.]

We are actually in the process of transitioning to full-time cruising in the Bahamas in the Caribbean on a 44’ sloop. We will also be going with the Highfield 340 RIB, a mercury 15 or 20hp four stroke, and a really secure cable and lock!

Joe K.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Joe K.

We are actually in the process of transitioning to full-time cruising in the Bahamas in the Caribbean on a 44’ sloop. We will also be going with the Highfield 340 RIB, a mercury 15 or 20hp four stroke, and a really secure cable and lock!

Joe K.

It always amazes me that sailors, used to traveling long distances at less than 10 knots feel the need to go short distances at high speeds. The main propulsion engine in a 44 ft sailboat is probably 50 to 75 horsepower and the boat is at least 12 tons. The dink, engine and passengers combined weigh less than 1000 pounds and yet there is a strong desire to do half a mile at 20 knots or more.

Big outboards are hard to move around and store. They use a lot of gas, an undesirable fuel to carry. They cost a lot more to buy and maintain.

I have used 3.5 horsepower outboards on 8 foot roll up dinghies my entire cruising life and have been quite happy with them. The engines can be carried in one hand. It has an integral fuel tank so no need to carry a separate tank unless going a long distance, and it sips fuel. The dink is easily lifted on the main halyard, stores out of the way and can be rolled up for long passages and when in a marina for any length of time.

[evm1024]

For me getting a larger (3.4m) dinghy with a 10 or 15 HP outboard is well worth the additional weight, fuel, etc.

I don't have that larger dinghy to fill any "need for speed" addiction. I have it for the increased options that it provides. I think that the tradeoffs are well worth it for me.

If I'm in a Harbor I'll often just putt along on my way from the boat to the shore at 3 or 4 kts. But, if I load up the dink with a few people, the dog, and a bunch of stores I know that the dink can get me through whatever current/wind and the like that comes our way.

Then as an example of options I know that I can take off and go explore/dive/provision 15 miles away without pushing the limits.

[Dockhead]

You've some pretty good advice, but I'm actually rather more pessimistic than others.



My boat is a good bit bigger than yours, and yet I couldn't achieve what you are aiming for.


When I bought my boat, she came with electric heavy lift davits and a 3.4m (Avon Rover 340) RIB with 25hp wheel steered outboard.


The dinghy would just almost do what you want, but it was a beast!! What -- 350 pounds -- dry?? No way in hell you would get that on any foredeck.


The davits were troublesome and I hated having that beast swinging from the davits while crossing the North Sea in weather, so I got rid of the whole lot, dinghy, davits, everything.


I replaced the davits with smaller hand cranked ones, and replaced the big wheel steered RIB with an Avon Lite 310 folding RIB.


The folding RIB is far less seaworthy and far less capacious -- 4 people tops. Far slower with an 8hp (and later 3.5hp) tiller steered outboard.



BUT -- the damn thing folds up and goes into a bag like a surfboard, which easily stows on my foredeck for passages, and can be easily lifted by hand into the davits. But it is so light, that I can inflate and launch it from the foredeck single handed, in about 10 minutes. And bring it on board with a halyard.



You do NOT want to manhandling something bigger than that, onto and off of the foredeck of a 50 foot boat.



So I suggest that since you will have to compromise somewhere, it should probably better be with load carrying. You will need to make two trips. I am very pleased with the folding RIB which handles much better than than a roll up and is much easier to inflate and deflate. The Avon is no longer made, but there is a similar French one, and an intruiging new Russian one (F-Rib).



I would suggest buying something like that, and try handling it on the foredeck. If it seems comfortable to you, then that's all you need. Possible since you don't have an inner forestay (unlike me), and depending on how low your headsail is cut, you might even be able to store it inflated and inverted. But even if that is possible, you don't want something heavier -- it's just not realistic to lift and handle it.



If it seems like a faff to do that every time for short passages, then invest in some davits.



That's my advice.


Good luck and let us know how you get on.