Sevylor Tender Runabout?

[pupluv]

Has anyone actually used one of these Sevylor Tenders? Can it be rowed?

I'm looking for a tender I can use on my 24' sailboat for mostly sheltered waters.

Thanks

 

[CalebD]

I have one that I bought about 5 years ago

I bought a 'Super Caravelle' for under $200 as a 'life raft' for my 27' sailboat. We never used it on that boat.
A couple of years ago I got another sailboat, a 19' Lightning which I use the Sevylor '3 person' as a tender for. It is pretty easy to row as long as the distance is not too great and there is not a lot of adverse wind or waves. The label on ours claims it can handle up to a 3 HP engine if I recall correctly but I would not try it.
You can almost automatically subtract one from the number of people that they claim it is for but you can't beat the price. We have had 3 adults in ours and it is really cozy but there ain't room for much more.
They are not built as tough as the $1000+ models of other brands so you have to be a little gentle with them. I guess you get what you pay for but I am pretty happy with mine.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[tcbro]

I have a similar one....

....by Sevylor and it sucks. Wanna buy it??? Seriously, mine doesn't have wooden thwarts (seats) and has no support in the floor. It had inflatable thwarts that we really had to remove to fit 2 of us in it. Trying to row while sitting on an unsupported floor was close to impossible. The side tubes were in my armpits and it felt as if I was rowing over my head.

That one looks better and if you can fabricate a rigid floor insert for it, it might even be OK to row.

A friend has one of those little inflatables from West Marine, the one with the fabric cover. It's small but relatively inexpensive. My friend likes it. He rowed over to my boat from a quarter mile away this weekend. See Pic taken by Mike of Papillion.

 

[Drew13440]

Second the motion...

I've one of the $199 West Marine dinghies, too. It comes with a duffel bag and stores nicely in my 24-footer. It's the way to go if you're in sheltered waters, don't want (or need) to spend two grand and don't need to sprint a mile against wind and waves under power. Sometimes, WM throws in an electric motor, free. You'll have to buy your own battery, though, and the word on the street is that the "free" electric motor is not worth the bother. Row, row, row your boat....

 

[BobM]

My research

My research down the same pathways led to West Marine (no shipping charges to your local store) and the Leisure Life 9.4 Water Tender. It is a hard tri-hulled plastic dinghy that I see commonly around my marina and it got rave reviews on Westmarine.

It is typically about $600 (I got it on sale for $550) and easily takes a 5hp outboard (I run a 4hp) and will hold 2-3 adults (around 480 lbs by the new conservative ratings). Seriously...some of these around my marina must be ancient and they are still functional. I looked at it as an investment...half the cost of an inflatable, but I won't be throwing it out in ten years or spending huge money fixing it. Downside is that, even though it is about the same weight (114
lbs)as an inflatable you won't be hauling it on the deck of a 24 footer. It tows well, though it will cut your speed dragging behind you in light air. It is pretty darn stable, but not nearly as stable as an inflatable. It fits nicely in the back of my Tundra and I launch it off a pair of wooden ramps I built. I could launch it without them, but the ramps are a back saver.