OC Tender Owners - would you buy again?

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by thesauvage

Well, the full carbon fiber from OC the OC350 is $18,730 USD landed in Florida. (without any options) Plus, at OC I was quoted a build spot in December/Jan 2024 with estimated arrival in Florida in March/April 2024. So that's a 10 month lead time...

UP Boats UP340 is $15,000 USD I've requested how long their lead time is, but I doubt it'll be that long.

Indeed, shipping is the main reason why the OCT is higher here on the East Coast of the US. I would imagine the UP340 would be more expensive shipped to New Zealand than the OCT would be to buy local there, so it's all relative to where you have it shipped to.
After having my OCT 300 for just over a year, I am still thrilled with it and can only say that this is one well thought out dinghy. I just came back from a two week trip on the Chesapeake and I spotted many more OCT's than I did last year for sure and even spotted one AST (German knock off).
These ultra light carbon fiber tenders are starting to catch on.....for good reason too.

[thesauvage]

Just to let you guys know, I pulled the trigger on a UP300 in September and had the tender delivered to a boat ramp in Boca from UP Boats last month.

I'm impressed with the stability and handling so far. The weight is amazingly low, I litteraly can lift and carry the whole thing when the engine is not mounted.

It seems they really put some thought in the design and construction, tender rides well through chop and the wide flat gunwales make getting on / off really easy. Boy, what a difference to the slippery round tubes of my old inflatable

What really stood out to me with UP Boats was the excellent customer service from Ric, who managed to accommodate for a last minute change of my boat's options and delivery.

Overall great company & boats. Would definitely buy again!

[sailcrazy]

Where is UP Boats? Can you post their contact info?

[thesauvage]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

Where is UP Boats? Can you post their contact info?

Their website:

www.ultralight-performance-boats.com

They're in South Florida Miami/Opa-locka

[thesauvage]

I just came across this video of a ASPEN Carbon cat dinghy.

https://youtu.be/opA70qiXOeE?si=aR_-svGfeMFEbcil

Apparently the tender ripped of all it's lift points 8)

The video and photos show what seems like a LOT of dry fibers due to poor craftsmanship.
According to the video ASPEN doesn't offer any warranty at all. Horrible customer service in my opinion.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by thesauvage

I just came across this video of a ASPEN Carbon cat dinghy.

https://youtu.be/opA70qiXOeE?si=aR_-svGfeMFEbcil

Apparently the tender ripped of all it's lift points 8)

The video and photos show what seems like a LOT of dry fibers due to poor craftsmanship.
According to the video ASPEN doesn't offer any warranty at all. Horrible customer service in my opinion.

I feel really bad for the owner of this Aspen Cat as these dinghies are an investment for sure and to have such a failure really deflates your mood. Looks like it should be repairable, but this really should not have happened!

[malbert73]

Anyone else with UP dinghy experience? Seems like the US version of the OC tender. Great that more of these are coming to market

[rslifkin]

Other than the price, my one complaint with a lot of the OC Tender style dinghies is that they have very wide side coamings. That pushes users to sitting sideways there (like on the tubes of an inflatable) rather than facing forward on thwarts like a typical skiff. The wide coamings also make it harder for a dog to hop in and out.

Personally, I'd be tempted to build my own if I want an upgraded hard dinghy. I'd likely to go for a hull shape similar to what the ASTenders have (looks like it would ride better than the OC Tender), but a more skiff-like shape without the wide gunwales and with 2 proper bench seats. I expect I'd target a total length of somewhere around 11.5 - 12 feet including flotation pods (outboard between the pods means the outboard won't add much extra length).

Realistically the only complaints I have with our aluminum skiff are low weight capacity (only rated for 600 lbs) and that the hull shape doesn't ride well in a chop unless it's fairly heavily loaded. With ~400 lbs in the dinghy the ride is pretty good against a chop even at WOT (which is ~9.5 - 10 kts with that load). Run it with just 1 person and the slamming is just brutal until you slow down to 5 kts or so.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Other than the price, my one complaint with a lot of the OC Tender style dinghies is that they have very wide side coamings. That pushes users to sitting sideways there (like on the tubes of an inflatable) rather than facing forward on thwarts like a typical skiff. The wide coamings also make it harder for a dog to hop in and out.

Personally, I'd be tempted to build my own if I want an upgraded hard dinghy. I'd likely to go for a hull shape similar to what the ASTenders have (looks like it would ride better than the OC Tender), but a more skiff-like shape without the wide gunwales and with 2 proper bench seats. I expect I'd target a total length of somewhere around 11.5 - 12 feet including flotation pods (outboard between the pods means the outboard won't add much extra length).

Realistically the only complaints I have with our aluminum skiff are low weight capacity (only rated for 600 lbs) and that the hull shape doesn't ride well in a chop unless it's fairly heavily loaded. With ~400 lbs in the dinghy the ride is pretty good against a chop even at WOT (which is ~9.5 - 10 kts with that load). Run it with just 1 person and the slamming is just brutal until you slow down to 5 kts or so.

If you want a more traditional type of skiff, you might want to check out the Stur-Dee line of boats. I was REAL tempted by the 10ft rowing skiff but wanted something a little lighter and and faster so I went with the OC 300.
These Stur-Dee boats have a very classic look and are out of fiberglass, so they should hold up well.
https://stur-deeboat.com/10-skiff/

[Jimbo2010]

If OC was smart they would open a production warehouse in the US.

THey would cost a lot less.

No way would I spend that kind of money on it, a Rib is more in line with my thinking

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

If you want a more traditional type of skiff, you might want to check out the Stur-Dee line of boats. I was REAL tempted by the 10ft rowing skiff but wanted something a little lighter and and faster so I went with the OC 300.
These Stur-Dee boats have a very classic look and are out of fiberglass, so they should hold up well.
https://stur-deeboat.com/10-skiff/

I was actually looking pretty hard at those before I bought our current dinghy (which was very cheap). We ended up going with a late 60s build 12 foot aluminum Starcraft skiff we found on Craigslist (see picture below of it hoisted in our davits). Compared to the Stur-dee skiff, ours is a bit bigger and also significantly faster (it will just manage to plane up to a 400 - 450 lb load with a 6hp). It's a little heavier as well at 150 lbs (fully assembled weight is about 250 lbs with the outboard, 3 gallon gas tank, oars, and anchor).

[JustMurph]

I have spoken to quite a few sailing friends that have been in OC tenders (but don't own them), who all commented that they have quite a rough ride, due to having quite little dead rise. I suppose that's the trade off for the planing efficiency of the hull. All said they were very well made, as expected.

Personally, I'll be looking at a quality, light weight cat dinghy like the one from cape catamarans. Full carbon epoxy foam sandwich, very light, very well built, very efficient and a much soother ride that anything else on the market.

https://www.capecatamarans.com

[Oldwheels]

I support the Al 12 ft pond boat. I bought a feather craft 11 1/2 ft for $250. I put another $150 for foam padding and seat cushions. The little beast weighs about !20 lb. What makes it best is how dry the ride is in chop and how fast she runs with 6 hp. So much ;more comfy.
I came to this after seeing an OC. for $12k I cant see that much worth.

[JustMurph]

Originally Posted by thesauvage

I just came across this video of a ASPEN Carbon cat dinghy.

Calling that thing a cat is very misleading!