New Tender

dlochner · Oct 18, 2020

For pretty, wood is the clear winner.

Why do you need a tender? How far do you sail? How many people will be on the tender? Will you tow it? Store it on deck? Have davits? How strong are you, wood tenders will be heavier than an inflatable? Do you plan to have a motor?

The answers to these question will be helpful in guiding your decision.

TomY · Oct 18, 2020

Captain W said:
I am Interested in your thoughts about tenders:

1. wooden vs inflatable
2. For wooden: Capability to row/sail
3. Proper length of tender for 30-foot sailboat

We are mostly weekend sailors. The Admiral is really interested in a “pretty” tender.

The last line says, tender. It's hard to beat Joel Whites Nutshell dinghy. I recommend from experience but also because the Nutshell is a staple on the coast of Maine, with good reasons.

For just two, you might be happy with the smaller version, but I'd advise you go with the 9'6". You might be able to wrestle the 7'6" on deck, but wait a minute: You say you'll mostly weekend which means coastal sail. 99.9% of coastal sailors tow their tenders. The Nutshell dinghy was designed to tow. We've towed ours thousands of coastal miles and some offshore for now more than 2 days (giving us accurate weather predictions). We've never had a problem towing, beyond having to adjust the painter.

Plus, the drag of a well designed hard tender is negligible, especially compared to an inflatable.

They row nicely even with two.

Sail well with their gaff rig

MJ Tommy dinghy sailing cuttyhunk crop (1 of 1).jpg

For even better performance(under both oar and sail), you might look for Joel Whites Shellback. But it's not as good an all around tender as the Nutshell which is more stable at dock or deck, and doesn't tow quite as well.

A little pricey, but you can find Nutshells and Shellbacks for sale often at Apprenticeshops or other centers of Maine boatbuilding. Good luck!

dlochner · Oct 18, 2020

Both the Nutshell and Shellback dinghies are available in kit form from the Wooden Boat store.

Full-sized Nutshell and Shellback Kits

Designed by Joel White, both of these boats are ideal dinghies for rowing, towing, and sailing. Included with kit: all the parts to build either the rowing or sailing version. Parts are pre-cut, the stem and center frame are pre-laminated, spars are four-sided and full length (not scarfed)...

www.woodenboatstore.com

I've long wanted to build a Shellback, however, space, time, and budget have not allowed it. A few years back there was an annual regatta for the Shellbacks held in alternating locations on Eastern Lake Ontario and in Maine. OffCenterHarbor.com was involved if I recall correctly. I think the regatta was called the Intergalatic Championship.

In the trivia department, Joel White the boat's designer is the son of E.B. White the author.

shemandr · Oct 18, 2020

I built and used a Peanut Pram for years. It would always draw attention in most places I visited. It was only 7' long and good for 2 people and some groceries. I could row it modest distances but used a Nisson 3.5 on it too. We towed it everywhere. But for good looks you can't beat a wood tender.
That Nutshell looks pretty sweet to me.

Benny17441 · Oct 18, 2020

It's a trade off 1) more stable, larger weight carrying capacity, stores in a bag, greater buoyancy, lighter to raise to deck. 2) Rows and tows better, puncture proof, longer useful life.

shemandr · Oct 18, 2020

10 to 12' seems very big to me.

DArcy · Oct 18, 2020

I have had a Walker Bay 8 for over 15 years and am very happy with it. It's a plastic boat, somewhere between wood and an inflatable for looks. I drag it up the beach, sand or rocks, I can easily lift it off the dinghy rack and launch it off the dock by myself. I did put it on the deck of my C&C 27, haven't tried on the Freeport 36 but I'm sure it would fit no problem. The 8 footer is great for 2 people but I have had 2 adults and 2 kids in it several times. It rows very well with one, ok with 2 and it can be done with the family of 4. In a rigid boat, go for at least 9 feet if you want to be able to fit 4.
If you are towing, you could easily accommodate a 10 footer behind your 30 foot boat, just don't expect to bring it on deck.

rbringle · Oct 18, 2020

I built a Rubens Nymph (1' wider than the Nymph) designed by Phil Bolger.

Rubens Nymph – 7′-9″ x 4′-6″ – H.H. Payson & Company

instantboats.com

We are very happy with it.

Extremely stable, no problems towing, rows well and turns on a spot. I row it most of the time for the exercise, but I have a small outboard that I can use if I want. It can be sailed, although I didn't build the components for sailing. I've had it on the bow of my Gulf 29' for a long trip up Lake Huron, but that's too much trouble to do that routinely. 8' is a good size for the two of us.

TomY · Oct 19, 2020

Captain W said:
Some beautiful options thanks....what are your thoughts on the length of a tender compared to the host boat? It seems that most wooden tenders are between 10-12 feet. Does it matter or is it all about functionality?

The length of a small boat pretty much determines the boats function, in all respects. The difference between 8 and 9' is night and day when it comes to stability and load carrying. A great example is the Dyer dinghy's that are popular in the NE. They have an 8' tender called the Midget. Nice tender for two people and a little gear. But if you have often need it to carry more than that it will become a tub to row. Worse, any overloaded small boat becomes dangerous in even mild conditions. Here's a Midget in a protected harbor with too big a load. No problem in here and if the row is short but if any sea or wake came along it could become dangerous.

A friend has the next larger Dyer tender, called the Dhow. It's 'only' a foot longer, but that foot is a mile in boats under 10'. They have had it since they started sailing on a 21' boat , with two young boys. Today they have a bigger boat (Hinckley Pilot 35), the boys are nearly grown and they have a dog. That's a pretty big load for a 9' tender so with they added a Torqueedo to help move a typical load from dock to their moored boat about 1/3-1/2 mile from the dinghy docks. But once underway, they don't need the Torqueedo much and have no problem getting to the boat while cruising our coast.

The family in the above shot would have no problem in the larger Dyer.

But in the end, the 8' tender performs best with one aboard. Two begins to slow it down, a little gear and it becomes a tub to row.

The 9' performs nearly as well with 2 as 1. Add a third person and it begins to slow down. A fourth, and it becomes a tub to row.

shemandr · Oct 19, 2020

rbringle said:
I built a Rubens Nymph (1' wider than the Nymph) designed by Phil Bolger.
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....

Love the seat! That's great for fore/aft boat trim. It works with one, two or more people. And their weight is in the middle where it should be. For my Peanut Pram I used an "H" shaped seat. That is a fore and aft athwartship seat with a middle section connecting the two - actually it was one piece. It was stitch and glue so it needed some stiffening from the seat. Nice build!

TomY · Oct 19, 2020

shemandr said:
Love the seat! That's great for fore/aft boat trim. It works with one, two or more people. And their weight is in the middle where it should be. For my Peanut Pram I used an "H" shaped seat. That is a fore and aft athwartship seat with a middle section connecting the two - actually it was one piece. It was stitch and glue so it needed some stiffening from the seat. Nice build!

That's a great trimming seat. When a tender gets a bit bigger than 8', you need two rowing stations to trim various loads.

rbringle · Oct 19, 2020

shemandr said:
Love the seat! That's great for fore/aft boat trim. It works with one, two or more people. And their weight is in the middle where it should be. For my Peanut Pram I used an "H" shaped seat. That is a fore and aft athwartship seat with a middle section connecting the two - actually it was one piece. It was stitch and glue so it needed some stiffening from the seat. Nice build!

Yes, the seat running down the center does allow for good weight distribution. This dinghy works well for three persons and has lots of freeboard. It proved somewhat awkward to use the outboard while seated on the center seat, so I added a small seat to get me off-center (visible on the starboard side in this photo:

An alternate seat arrangement is the one used on a Coot dinghy, which permits weight distribution fore, aft as well as athwartship:

Coot | Guillemot Kayaks

A cute little wooden dinghy

www.guillemot-kayaks.com

shemandr · Oct 19, 2020

The great thing about building your own is that you can modify a plan for your use. I'll see if I can find a photo of my "pup."

MitchM · Oct 19, 2020

check out the chesapeake light craft 'eastport pram', a 62#, 3 person capacity. row and sail kit boat. we love ours, fits onto a roof rack or onto forespar dinghy davits w a dinghy cover to keep it from filling w rain. CLC, out of annapolis also make a larger pram , and another that splits into 2 pieces for storing on deck. the 'boat bazaar ' of CLC often has dinghys for sale at an excellent price. i built mine, i'm glad to say, equipped with both row and sail kits. and i's been a great little boat. )and a good winter boat building project .) and did i mention john harris, founder of of CLC actually answers the phone when you call w tech questions ?

port of erie PA
s/v eagleswing, clc dinghy 'eagle scout', and clc 16 foot towable row and sail skerry ' the eaglet'

shemandr · Oct 19, 2020

MitchM said:
...and did i mention john harris, founder of of CLC actually answers the phone when you call w tech questions ?

That's so analog! I love it!

Davidasailor26 · Oct 20, 2020

TomY said:
A friend has the next larger Dyer tender, called the Dhow. It's 'only' a foot longer, but that foot is a mile in boats under 10'. They have had it since they started sailing on a 21' boat , with two young boys. Today they have a bigger boat (Hinckley Pilot 35), the boys are nearly grown and they have a dog. That's a pretty big load for a 9' tender so with they added a Torqueedo to help move a typical load from dock to their moored boat about 1/3-1/2 mile from the dinghy docks. But once underway, they don't need the Torqueedo much and have no problem getting to the boat while cruising our coast.

The family in the above shot would have no problem in the larger Dyer.

That brings back memories for me. I learned to row on my grandparents’ Dyer Dhow. I never had the chance to sail it. My parents tell stories about enjoying that though.

DArcy · Oct 20, 2020

When I was a kid my dad built a 9 foot dinghy in our family room. He designed it himself, I had a model version of it made out of cardboard and fiberglass that I played with. He was an architect and he liked to model his designs before going full scale.
It was glass over plywood with a blunt bow. It carried a load very well but I always thought it was a bit heavy. We had a sailing rig for it and I would say it sailed very well. That is the boat I learned to sail by myself in, chasing gulls around the anchorage.
He sold it before sailing south to get a roll up inflatable he could stow for offshore passages.