Inflatable Tender sizing

C08 · 23 Feb 2024

My old Plastimo Raid tender is coming apart and I need to replace it. My pronlem is that it is on the boat a distance away and I am not sure what size it is. I want the smallest tender ( on account of weight and fitting on my stern deck on davits) that will take 3 adults with a squeeze. I am unsure whether a 2.3m tender is big enough or if I need 2.5 or 2.6M. Any advice on this.

Tranona · 23 Feb 2024

2.3m is minimum for 3 people. 2.6 is much better. Look at the specs - tube diameter, maximum payload of the ones you are interested in. Personally for 3 people I would not want less than 2.6, better 2.7 or 2.9 (assuming hard transom)

wonkywinch · 23 Feb 2024

Looking at this decision ourselves. The manufacturers specified load capacity seems very pessimistic and we sat in a 2.5m in a chandler recently and thought it plenty big enough to carry up to 4 people to/from anchorage to the pub although for more open sea, round a headland etc, I'd stick to the placarded limit.

harvey38 · 24 Feb 2024

I'd be considering the water I would be using the tender in to determine what size outboard I needed then add the amount of occupants. Three people may fit in a 2.3M tender (snug but possible) but would 4hp engine make much headway against a tide?

Just a thought.

Stemar · 24 Feb 2024

I have a 2.3m inflatable from Excel. It's comfortable for 1, OK for 2, but I wouldn't want to go any distance 3-up, especially if it's a bit lumpy. I only mention the make to suggest going elsewhere, as it isn't strongly made - towing eyes tore out, and I've had to reglue stuff a few times. Another make I'd avoid is Zodiac. The design of their rowlocks is, or at least, was very poor. Maximum power on the plate is good to have, and might get you planing lightly loaded, but our 3.5HP is plenty for chugging around the harbour - it would even push our Snapdragon around pretty well.

Final thought - an inflatable floor is well worth the extra cost over a slatted one - much better at keeping your feet and bags dry.

wonkywinch · 24 Feb 2024

Stemar said:
I have a 2.3m inflatable from Excel. It's comfortable for 1, OK for 2, but I wouldn't want to go any distance 3-up, especially if it's a bit lumpy. I only mention the make to suggest going elsewhere, as it isn't strongly made - towing eyes tore out, and I've had to reglue stuff a few times. Another make I'd avoid is Zodiac. The design of their rowlocks is, or at least, was very poor. Maximum power on the plate is good to have, and might get you planing lightly loaded, but our 3.5HP is plenty for chugging around the harbour - it would even push our Snapdragon around pretty well.

Final thought - an inflatable floor is well worth the extra cost over a slatted one - much better at keeping your feet and bags dry.

Current thought is the inflatable V hull from 3D. The 2.5m one only weighs 17.4kg, half the weight of competitors so easy to handle when storing on the boat.

TWIN V-Shape 250

Aquanaught · 24 Feb 2024

If your tender is going to live on the stern in davits then you need to be careful about material the tender is made from unless you provide a cover. Hypalon will outlive a PVC tender by many years as the PVC material will UV degrade unless you can fit covers. However it is a balance of costs of course, and accept you can buy two cheap PVC tenders for the price of a good spec hypalon. We have a 2.3m airdeck tender with wide tubes and three up (adults) is doable for short trips from moorings to town for instance, in sheltered locations with a 3.5hp engine (if fact we often take four). If you are in more exposed locations or likely to be in lumpy seas then would suggest you look larger.

Lightwave395 · 24 Feb 2024

I'm in a similar dilemma, I find my 2.6m tender is a bit tight for 2 people with a weeks supplies to reach the boat (old Mailspeed 265 (?) with slatted wood floor), yet the 3.3hp outboatrd is almost overkill. The boatyrad racks are 1.5M wide, I'm thinkig of going up a bit to 2.9M so it's heavy

Fr J Hackett · 24 Feb 2024

wonkywinch said:
Looking at this decision ourselves. The manufacturers specified load capacity seems very pessimistic and we sat in a 2.5m in a chandler recently and thought it plenty big enough to carry up to 4 people to/from anchorage to the pub although for more open sea, round a headland etc, I'd stick to the placarded limit.

Whilst there might be enough space that's not the critical thing, it's the buoyancy / load carrying capacity that is important and that is largely determined by the tube diameter unless of course you enjoy a wet arse every time you use the dinghy.

Stemar · 24 Feb 2024

wonkywinch said:
Current thought is the inflatable V hull from 3D. The 2.5m one only weighs 17.4kg, half the weight of competitors so easy to handle when storing on the boat.

TWIN V-Shape 250

That's interesting. My flubber's coming to the end of its life, and I wanted to go up a size, so I'll keep that in mind.

C08 · 24 Feb 2024

Thanks for replies - it is helping me focus a bit. Thinking about it the overall length might be a bit misleading when making comparisons as the ones with the pointed tubes at the rear must have less internal space when compared to dinghys with tubes with shorter rounded ends. Yes big fat tubes do give a much dryer ride.
The Aqua Marina dinks look good value @ circa £500 for a 2.5 with inflatable floor but they do not say what the material is, how thick it is? I read one report of one in Australia that developed sticky patches, but my Plastimo Raid did that where the Plastimo Labels fell off but cleaned up with solvent and then ok. Any views/experiences on tne Aqua marina dinks?

Fr J Hackett · 24 Feb 2024

Stemar said:
That's interesting. My flubber's coming to the end of its life, and I wanted to go up a size, so I'll keep that in mind.

I don't know the inflatable but my thoughts are:
There is a reason it's half the weight of others:
a) Its tubes are smaller thus lower carrying capacity, see wet arse comment previously.
b) It's materials are thiner, less durable than others so unlikely to last very long.

I may be wrong but I would need to see one in the flesh and a competitors dinghy before choosing it.

Graham376 · 24 Feb 2024

We replaced our Waveline 2.9 with an Arimar Classic 2.7, which is OK for 3 people but I wouldn't want to go smaller. It has lifting points for davits and with aluminium floor, safer for carrying bikes in than airdeck. https://arimar.pro/product_list/classic/

wonkywinch · 24 Feb 2024

Interesting posts - here's my hand grenade being lobbed in ....

What anchor do you use with your tender?

C08 · 24 Feb 2024

These are interesting - the guy says he buys them unbranded and are the same as Waveco, Seago and Telemax. Also packages including outboards that look too cheap?

Inflatable dinghy 230 with Honda 2.3hp outboard

wonkywinch · 24 Feb 2024

C08 said:
These are interesting - the guy says he buys them unbranded and are the same as Waveco, Seago and Telemax. Also packages including outboards that look too cheap?

Inflatable dinghy 230 with Honda 2.3hp outboard

Looks like, at best, cheap Chinese imports. Domain registered last August and anonymously hosted on Google. A single (burner?) mobile number shared with another website selling botox treatments?

Beauty Beyond Aesthetics

Suspect it has something to do with Sailing Matters Ltd, a company registered at a new build house in Colchester that never traded and got struck off in 2022 as the current location is another new build in Wivenhoe.

SAILING MATTERS LIMITED

C08 · 24 Feb 2024

Yes looks fishy - lots of dinks & engine all over the country on Christians sales list?
Bei Facebook anmelden

dansaskip · 24 Feb 2024

Surprisingly only Lightwave has mentioned carrying out supplies to the boat. Food and kit for 3 can take up a quite a bit of room in a dinghy and weight of course so factor that into the size. Any choice of dinghy size is a compromise between what you can handle ashore, getting aboard and storing and only use will tell you that which might be unfortunate. Finally I’d say go for one with welded seams rather than glued.

C08 · 24 Feb 2024

Yes I guess you get what you pay for. My problem is getting something "good enough" at a budget price. May go for a quality dink second hand.

Stemar · 24 Feb 2024

wonkywinch said:
Interesting posts - here's my hand grenade being lobbed in ....

What anchor do you use with your tender?

One of these

More accurately, there's one in the dinghy bag, along with the pump and repair kit. I don't think I've ever actually used it,

Inflatable Tender sizing

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