OC Tender Owners - would you buy again?

[TDB1227]

As usual on this forum a lot of opinions by people who never ever owned or had "hands on experience" with an OCT. I had 3 tenders in 1 year before I finally decided to bite the Bullitt and go for the OCT. Since I got it in 2019 I love the tender and will definitely order again.
By the way the people of OCT (especially Karin) are fantastic to work with.

[TDB1227]

BTW OCT strongly recommended to keep my 15HP outboard; I wanted to get a 20HP but Karin told me that another customer changed to 20HP against her suggestion and regretted the change.

[Qismat]

yeah we have a 9.9 uprated to a 15 and its perfect, i don't know that I would want any more on our OC300

[Hobie_ind]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

I recently purchased an eBike and am super impressed with power and range, but for a dink, will likely opt for15hp outboard. Plan is south from San Diego then to Florida so speed and range are important and not sure torqueedo and LFP will deliver, but maybe. Will be my next query to CF.

This sort of answers my question about how YOU were going to use the dinghy.

When we were in NZ for the cyclone season in 2015/2016, I looked at the OC Tender long and hard and test drove one. I loved, it, but in the end we bought a 3.4m Highfield instead. The difference was that the flat bottom of the OC Tender meant you had to slow down well below planing speeds in any significant chop, whereas the Highfield was quite happy at planing speeds in pretty significant chop. OC recommended a 10 hp outboard for this reason and in flat water, it would plane easily. The Highfield needed 15 hp, but for as our desired use in the South Pacific as to be able to use the dinghy on longer distances to get to villages or good dive sites further away from anchorages (ie. 2 adults/ 2 teenagers, with full dive gear for two of us and snorkeling gear for the other two in the dinghy) the Highfield won out.

Make no mistake, I loved the OC Tender and think that Russell has a spectacular product (very well made, light, easy to plane with less power, etc.), but for our intended usage it just wasn't the right one. It may be exactly the right dinghy for you. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people making recommendations based on their own personal criteria and not asking what the users criteria are. Hopefully this helps your decision.

[Tortuga's Lie]

My OC300 is due to arrive at the end of April/early May and I am really looking forward to it but the shipping costs are extreme as others have indicated. I am not a huge fan of deflatables and have many, many rigid dinks (pram, The Dink, unknown brand rigid, 9' Fatty Knees, unknown inflatable, 8' home made stitch and glue) All of the fiberglass dinks that I have had did not get up on plane, hence the search for something similar to a Rib with none of the drawbacks.........ie OC Tenders. AND as others have indicated, it's hard to justify but if it will outlast the RIBs and fun to scoot about, it may be worth it to you. There is a German knock off (AST?) but not sure if they are importing to the states and not sure if they are any cheaper.
The big advantage the OC Tender is that it's available in carbon fiber and the OC 300 will weight about 75 pounds empty and plane with a 4-5hp/one person or 8hp with 2-3 people. I am going to push it with a 9.9 2stroke, so it should fly.

P.S. it will take 9 months to a year to get yours from the time of order, some of the delay is pandemic related and shipping delays

[Iamme]

Love my OC Tender! I was very lucky in that I purchased it used for about 5. It was leas than a year old. It’s former owner was a charter cat that had a crew who hated it. The crew had been used to a rubber dink more suitable for charter guests. Getting in and out of it is a bit more challenging than a rubber dinghy. It was also way overpowered with an old 20 hsp engine that was difficult to control because of some throttle issues. I replaced the 20 hsp outboard with my relatively new 15 hsp that I had on my old rubber dinghy. My outboard weighs more than the OC Tender and I plan to eventually replace with a lightweight electric outboard. What I especially like about the OC Tender is it is lightweight, has an incredible amount of storage capacity, never have to worry about inflation issues, and is extremely simple to repair the inevitable dings that might occur

[capnkev]

We have an OC 350 with a 15hp Suzuki 4 stroke. Yes, it is expensive. It also took about 9 months from the time I ordered it until it arrived in FL. Something happened with the container and several of the dinghy’s were damaged during shipping. I never got clarity on what happy to mine, but they were repaired and I don’t see where the damage is.
I do like it a lot. It’s got twice the storage for half the weight which is nice. Gets up on plane with 4 adults.
Things I don’t like, it leaked from the day I got it. They didn’t seal the beach wheels at the factory, which doesn’t build confidence in their quality control. I contacted Karin and they told me to do it myself. no compensation was offered for the shipping damage or the leaky new boat. I resealed the wheels and it still leaks, from the bung plugs. I don’t like how they screw in at all. Only occasionally can I get them to seal.
There are no cup holders, but I bought a cup holder that goes into the rod holders.
The non skid pads they use tend to peel up.
The boat is dry and comfortable, but a little less so than a deflatable. Getting rid of my foot pump was a very happy day indeed, and I have no regrets buying it. It was great to beach it in the Bahamas with the skid plate and wheels.
I also wish they used stainless hardware instead of carbon fiber and dyneema for the dinghy lift points. They work fine, but not sure how I’m going to have to deal with replacing the line and lift points if they fail.
I also don’t like the handle at the bow or the hole they drilled there.
Overall it’s still better than a RIB but there’s room for improvement

[Happ]

I just looked on their website. It costs $12k NZL without shipping. It is Carbon Fiber at about 105#/48kg. That’s why it is so expensive. Add options, shipping and tax it’s going to cost. AS a dinghy for a boat you will need David’s for sure. If you are looking for trailerable small boat to tool around in it looks like a good safe boat.

[TabbyCat]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

https://octenders.co.nz/products-oc330/

For those who own one, would you replace it if needed? Quite a cost premium here in the US but for something as instrumental as a dinghy, might be worth it?

Thanks in advance -

Yes, absolutely! We have hull #7 of the OC 350. (That's 12' feet)
I would get the sailing version if I replaced it.
Just this week we changed our old 18HP Tohatsu out for a 9.9 Mercury, since that is more than enough HP to plan with 4 people. Or 2 people and lots of groceries or dive equipment. Even with the old 18 HP, it used less fuel than our AB RIB, since it was not plowing though the water like the RIBs do, it just jumps up on plane right away. And a joy to drive- we we did a test drive in NZ with a bunch of us cruisers on board, and we were all hooting and hollering like a bunch of kids- it was just so fun to throw it into turns and zoom around. I remember the lady next to me yelling "I gotta have one!" and we both put in orders on the spot. No more pumping up deflated tubes, no more patching- this is the last dinghy I will own, so hopefully will never have to replace it!

[Carl1956]

There is another expensive version:
https://ast-yachts.com

[TDB1227]

Originally Posted by capnkev

We have an OC 350 with a 15hp Suzuki 4 stroke. Yes, it is expensive. It also took about 9 months from the time I ordered it until it arrived in FL. Something happened with the container and several of the dinghy’s were damaged during shipping. I never got clarity on what happy to mine, but they were repaired and I don’t see where the damage is.
I do like it a lot. It’s got twice the storage for half the weight which is nice. Gets up on plane with 4 adults.
Things I don’t like, it leaked from the day I got it. They didn’t seal the beach wheels at the factory, which doesn’t build confidence in their quality control. I contacted Karin and they told me to do it myself. no compensation was offered for the shipping damage or the leaky new boat. I resealed the wheels and it still leaks, from the bung plugs. I don’t like how they screw in at all. Only occasionally can I get them to seal.
There are no cup holders, but I bought a cup holder that goes into the rod holders.
The non skid pads they use tend to peel up.
The boat is dry and comfortable, but a little less so than a deflatable. Getting rid of my foot pump was a very happy day indeed, and I have no regrets buying it. It was great to beach it in the Bahamas with the skid plate and wheels.
I also wish they used stainless hardware instead of carbon fiber and dyneema for the dinghy lift points. They work fine, but not sure how I’m going to have to deal with replacing the line and lift points if they fail.
I also don’t like the handle at the bow or the hole they drilled there.
Overall it’s still better than a RIB but there’s room for improvement

You can order the cupholders when they build it - it is or used to be an option.

[SteveSadler]

I'm not sure why it costs 12k. The link states 12k nz$ which may be $7k US? Hard dinks are way better, more durable, and plane more weight, than Inflatables but cannot be deflated for stowage. Also not very friendly to the mother ship even with the pads provided. My 12' hypalon rib cost $3500 new and 7 yrs later still no problems. Paying 2x more means I have more money than I can spend in my lifetime.

[Happ]

Originally Posted by SteveSadler

I'm not sure why it costs 12k. The link states 12k nz$ which may be $7k US? Hard dinks are way better, more durable, and plane more weight, than Inflatables but cannot be deflated for stowage. Also not very friendly to the mother ship even with the pads provided. My 12' hypalon rib cost $3500 new and 7 yrs later still no problems. Paying 2x more means I have more money than I can spend in my lifetime.

It’s carbon fiber that’s why. That’s also how they keep the weight down.

[seahag]

I’ve been on quite a few OC tenders and they are nice- but my complaints are they are much more tippy than a standard rib- not that they will go over, just very much side roll. And the proprietary nonskid is uncomfortable to sit on and stand in bare feet. They have zoomed up in price this year- crazy expensive but nice boats in general.

[elaak]

Late reply but pretty relevant.

I bought one of their first 100 hulls and had it shipped to SF. Sailed all over with it including Alaska, Mexico, across the pacific and now New Zealand. I've done some serious damage to it over the years but it is all repairable with basic composite repair techniques. I'd be fully replacing an inflatable if I had one.

I loved it so much that I've got a new sailing carbon one on order and am replacing my non-sailing one.

I have indeed bought again