Opinions on various inflatable tenders.

[Troppo]

For the past few years, I have used a 11 foot aluminium dinghy as my tender for Windchaser.

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It has proven excellent as I have used it heaps for carting repair stuff back and forth to Windchaser on the river, used it in floods when I move Windchaser down and around the corner to a safer spot, used it for surveying areas so I know depths before taking Windchaser across. And I have even used it as an actual tender when I am down river.

So far it has done excellent service but I can't always tow it where I want to go. An inflatable tender I can pack away so no towing seems like a good way to go.

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I have started reading about various types and brands of inflatable tenders. Sheesh, for the price of a pizza I can buy a blow-up boat. Probably only last as long as a pizza too. So many types on the market, it is overwhelming.

If you have any experience with inflatable tenders, please tell my your story.

Louis
troppo

[bearmcnally]

Hi Troppo

i've got a 9'ft rib inflatable which my father bought for the 38 as a tender. We used a 8ft and 10 ft aluminium dinghy for many years but as dad got older and more unstable he moved to the rubber. He looked at many as you could understand wanting stability easy transport and most of cost ,and ended up with an Aqua-pro .He shoved a 15hp on the back which made the thing fly . I now run a 5hp on it and it flies with one and moves with 2 in it. The only problem dad found with it was ,when he came beside his yacht he found it hard to reach the gunwales .But he was 82 years old .We use it now when taking friends and family to and from the 38 and can't fault it and it tows fine .Funny though ,I have an old Manly Junior which I use as my every day tender and believe it not it is the best dinghy I've ever owned.

Cheers bear

[Phillip]

Whitworths have a cheap [$6-700] inflatable, 2.6m, each summer on special. Aqua-craft this year. I brought mine in 2010 [I think, maybe earlier].

I have used and abused it on three major trips [7,000nm] and only now is it starting to come apart, mainly around the stern board.

I will repair it, got the right glue, for at least one more trip. I powered it with a 2.5 hp Tohatso outboard.
[Use a tiller extension = 1m of 50mm PVC pipe]

The real secret with inflatables is to remove any sand that gets in them immediately, as it will abrade the rubber as the inflatable works.
Got one of those small folding anchors and 2 m of SS chain with 20m of 6mm braid plus a plastic baler. Carry 1 lt. of extra fuel in a Meths bottle for short trips [to stop the rats!]. When I tow it in flat water [without the motor on] my towing rope goes right back to the stern board in a Y and a short line from that to the bow.

I now store mine, in a new bag made by my sail maker, on the foredeck. Used to have it on the cabin top but it was a struggle to move to the fore deck and then when I brought all back to the cockpit it was the chance to move it forward. I have had no problem in rough weather in that position.

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You can see the dinghy bag on the starboard side.

[woodsy]

I believe the glue in Chinese inflatable doesn't last well in the sun of the tropics.

[Phillip]

The failures I've had are at the hard points,

ie, rowlock pads, stern board attachment, cover strip on hard point of stern of tubes.

Joins in the fabric have not failed at all.

[Troppo]

Bear, I had a rowing boat like that once upon a time. Don't know if it was exactly the same, probably a few types around that look similar. It rowed well. Was heavy because made out of steel. No, actually, it was made of ply but somebody decided to protect it by covering it with fibreglass. Thick fibreglass. Some inside areas as well. Despite that, I loved it.

Phil, that's interesting about your experience. I like the way it fits neatly in the bag up on deck.

troppo

[Tales]

Hi Louis,
We use a Pioneer 8 plastic dinghy (kept on shore) for getting out to the boat. It is roto moulded so double skin and won't mark the gel coat. Rows very nicely and tows very nicely.

On Tales we had a vinyl inflatable 'donut' type with blow up floor. I made a ply floor from 6mm marine ply to fit under the side tubes before inflation. Sealed it with epoxy but never sanded the flat surfaces in order to have a bit of grip.

For the S&S34 we have an Achilles LT2 in Hypalon. The type has a good reputation among cruisers but it weighs 18kg.
It is a 'donut' form but can have an outboard if one gets the wooden mount available for it.
They come up on Gumtree and EBay and mine was $400 in nearly new condition. It has a folding ply floor and very good captive oars.
Never heard of a glue problem with them and no transom to come loose.
The older ones are red, later ones grey.
Great for rowing except in windy weather when an outboard motor would be useful!
I have found that soft floor inflatables (not RHIBs) do not tow well.
Some folk claim success by lifting the bow out of the water and securing it to the aft pulpit so that only the very back of the inflatable is in the water.

Cheers,

Tom

[Miker]

Louis, I bought a nearly new Islander with an inflateable deck, it's light enough to lift above my head and put on the roof of my kombi. Trouble is, the glue didn't survive the first day being left on the car for a couple of hours. The whole floor came away and before I notched it, it was behaving like a sea anchor. So unless your good with glue, steer clear of the cheaper ones.

The previous boat was a loaner from my Dad, an Aquila slat deck from Mona Vale and it was really good. I left it inflated in my garage for two years and only ever topped it up once. Left it on the car all day and towed it all over Pittwater.

Check em out, a bit cheaper than a Zodiac, IMO the best, but much better quality than the Islander and any other Chinese stuff.

[lockie]

From what I've seen, heard and read, UV and heat is the biggest killer of inflatables. So if you are using one up north, try and keep it out of the sun as much as you can.

Mine is a 20 year old Bombard AX-2 which I got as a give-away from a bloke who had tried to fix it with contact cement, after it stared coming apart big time. He'd used it for a couple of cruises in the Whitsundays. Of course, being PVC, contact cement was useless. I used a (gentle heat gun, scraper and (again very gentle) rotary wire brush to remove the contact cement, then fixed it with the right stuff. It was surprising how little heat would soften the good glue as well as the bad. I have used Azbond from WW's and it seems good.

It serves me well for my annual cruises, but that's in Bass Strait so excessive sunlight is the least of my worries! I get the impression it's getting harder to find quality as good as the old ones now that they are cranked out of China. Like lots of things these days, a good older used one might be a better investment.

Cheers, Graeme

[Troppo]

. . . Of course, being PVC, contact cement was useless. I used a (gentle heat gun, scraper and (again very gentle) rotary wire brush to remove the contact cement, then fixed it with the right stuff. It was surprising how little heat would soften the good glue as well as the bad. . . .

Cheers, Graeme

Wow! I am impressed!! You repaired an inflatable boat with heat gun, scraper and wire brush. I think you have a special touch. Nice to know these things are possible.

Now if it was me that had tried that, I would be saying how I melted the plastic so much it caught fire then got flung around the room by the spinning wire brush and two firebrigade units had to come out and save me. : )

troppo