How to Pick the Best Tender for Your Boat

For centuries, ships have carried smaller boats called “tenders”, designed to “attend” to them by performing functions like ferrying people and supplies back and forth to shore when the ship is at anchor or tied to a mooring, scouting the waters ahead, and delivering messages to other ships. In recreational boating, the use of “dinghies” has been widespread among the sailing community for decades, but today, many motoryachts also carry them – even boats as small as 30 feet in length.

There are many types of tender on the market, from roll-up inflatables and personal watercraft to rigid bottom inflatables (RIBs), fiberglass runabouts, and even “limo tenders” for superyachts. If you are thinking of purchasing a tender for your boat, here are five things to consider that will help you choose the right one for your needs.

1. How are you planning to use your primary boat and tender?
   If you berth your boat at home or in a marina and primarily take it out to dock-n-dine restaurants or to the local sandbar for the day, you may not need a tender. But if you plan to go on long-range cruises and anchor out in destinations that may not have docks or marinas that can accommodate your boat, a tender is essential equipment for transportation to and from land. Other popular roles for a tender include watersports tow boat, fishing boat, dive boat and “gunkholing” – exploring areas where the water is too shallow for the mother yacht. If any of these activities suits your fancy, you can find a wide variety of tenders purpose- built for it, including wake and waterski boats, small center consoles equipped with rod holders and live wells, RIBS that are easy to dive from, and flats boats, jet boats and PWCs designed to operate in shallow water.
2. Where will the tender be stored on board your boat?
   Experienced captains sometimes tow a tender behind the mother boat on short transits, but that is not an ideal solution. The tender adds drag that can reduce fuel consumption, and rough seas sometimes will swamp the towed boat. Instead, your tender should be stored on board in a cradle on deck, hanging in a harness from a davit mounted at the transom, or inside a dedicated “garage”.
3. How large a tender can your boat carry?
   Naturally, the space available on board for the tender to be stored in will determine its maximum LOA and beam. Displacement is another key factor – If you will be using an onboard davit to launch, retrieve and/or store the tender, its weight cannot exceed the davit’s rated capacity. If the mother yacht has a garage or tender bay, the length, width and height of that compartment will determine the dimensions of the tender that fits inside. The small boat’s hullform also must be compatible with the rollers, bunks or tracks that form the garage’s launch-and-retrieval system. A runabout or RIB with a deep-V or modified-V hull typically will “slide” better than one with a flatter hull. (On superyachts with a tender compartment that can be flooded, allowing the boat to float in and out, hullform is not as big a concern.) If your mother boat is too small to accommodate a tender on deck or hanging from a davit, a small roll-up inflatable that can be stored in a locker or under a berth might suit your needs. If you go this route, be sure to purchase an air pump powerful enough to blow the inflatable dinghy up in a relatively short time and consider purchasing a roll-up with an inflatable keel or strakes for stability. You also will need oars and oarlocks, or a small gas or electric outboard motor for power.
4. How many people do you want the tender to carry?
   The number of passengers you plan to transport in your tender is another factor that will help you to determine what type of craft to purchase. RIBs that offer seating on the tubes in addition to the seats typically hold the largest number of people. They also have the advantage of being able to tie up alongside the mother boat without causing damage to its hull.
5. What’s your style?
   After you have determined the size, weight, mission(s) and passenger capacity of your tender, the last question is how do you want it to look? Would you prefer a retro tender like a Chris-Craft or a military-style RIB with black tubes? Should it be custom-painted to match your boat’s hull? With the wide variety of tenders on the market today, there are many different ways to express your personal taste.

In addition to adding more functionality to your cruising adventures, a tender will help to connect you and your guests more intimately with the water and experience the boating lifestyle to its fullest. Whatever tender you choose, be sure to spend some time on board just having fun.