inflatable tender recommendations

[dieck]

inflatable tender

I have foundthat inflatable tenders suffer heavily from the higher temperatures we have today. They are next to bursting in the early afternonn and are partially deflated at night.
Additiopnally we generally dont deflate and pack up our tender at all.
The solution for me was to buy a tender completely made of Pollyethylene manufactured by Pioneer in Norway. The Model is Sturdy 320. It looks like an inflatable tender but is solid. I own it since 3 years and it has proven to be durable and perfect for the use as tender with a 15 hp electric start Honda outboard.

 

[Duetto]

hi,

we have had a west marine 10'6" hypalon rib for 9 seasons in connecticut. it's light weight, 105 lbs., very dry, and stable. we have a yamaha 15 2 stroke. will easily plane w three aboard and with 4 if you move weight around. we have it on lacroix davits.

we like it so much that we bought another for our other boat in fl 5 years ago.

 

[Caballero II]

What is an "AB"? We're looking for an Aluminum bottomed RIB as well, but don't know this term. Duhh!!!

 

[jimL]

AB = AB inflatables = ABInflatablesusa - Inflatable Boats & Recreational Tenders

 

[jeff brown]

From what I found out AB Brand is one of the best and lightest you can buy. But also very expensive.

 

[Caballero II]

Thanks you guys. Never heard of it. I'm a hyopalon Avon or Zodiac generation. I'll do my due diligence now. Best.

 

[grahamdouglass]

Walker Bay Genesis 310 with Tohatsu 20hp motor

I bought a Walker Bay Genesis 310 in 2011 with a Sea Wise Manual davit system. Brand new.

WHAT A MISTAKE. WHAT A PIECE OF **** TENDER.

They chopped 2 feet off of the Walker Bay 340 to make the 310. This altered the lift characteristics of the tender and it takes a lot of speed to bring it to plane. The bow is in the air. And this is with dolphins on the motor. This means you have to go really slow or at planing speed. When I contacted Walker Bay to complain, they blew me off.

The Tohatsu is finicky and has to be regularly serviced, not like my rock solid mercury 9.9 two stroke I had before.

I recently had this dingy stolen. Unfortunately the police recovered it, minus the oars. The marine service shop that is detailing my dingy and serviceing the motor can't find oars for this dingy at any price. When I checked with a local marine store that sells Walker Bay,they say they no longer carry the oars. I think when I visited them some two weeks ago they still had them on their inventory list and they wanted $200 for the pair.

The guy at the store told me to search the web to find some on line.

Also, when I was out on my dingy and the motor stopped I used those oars. They were very difficult to remove from there storage spot, and the dingy didn't row worth a damn.


DO NOT, AND I REPEAT DO NOT BUY ANY THING FROM WALKER BAY.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

I bought a Walker Bay Genesis 310 in 2011 with a Sea Wise Manual davit system. Brand new.

WHAT A MISTAKE. WHAT A PIECE OF **** TENDER.

They chopped 2 feet off of the Walker Bay 340 to make the 310. This altered the lift characteristics of the tender and it takes a lot of speed to bring it to plane. The bow is in the air. And this is with dolphins on the motor. This means you have to go really slow or at planing speed. When I contacted Walker Bay to complain, they blew me off.

The Tohatsu is finicky and has to be regularly serviced, not like my rock solid mercury 9.9 two stroke I had before.

I recently had this dingy stolen. Unfortunately the police recovered it, minus the oars. The marine service shop that is detailing my dingy and serviceing the motor can't find oars for this dingy at any price. When I checked with a local marine store that sells Walker Bay,they say they no longer carry the oars. I think when I visited them some two weeks ago they still had them on their inventory list and they wanted $200 for the pair.

The guy at the store told me to search the web to find some on line.

Also, when I was out on my dingy and the motor stopped I used those oars. They were very difficult to remove from there storage spot, and the dingy didn't row worth a damn.


DO NOT, AND I REPEAT DO NOT BUY ANY THING FROM WALKER BAY.

Guess who made your rock solid Merc?....Tohatsu did. They manufacture all the sub 30ph Mercs.

 

[ssobol]

I bought a Walker Bay Genesis 310 in 2011 with a Sea Wise Manual davit system. Brand new.

WHAT A MISTAKE. WHAT A PIECE OF **** TENDER.

They chopped 2 feet off of the Walker Bay 340 to make the 310. This altered the lift characteristics of the tender and it takes a lot of speed to bring it to plane. The bow is in the air. And this is with dolphins on the motor. This means you have to go really slow or at planing speed. When I contacted Walker Bay to complain, they blew me off.

The Tohatsu is finicky and has to be regularly serviced, not like my rock solid mercury 9.9 two stroke I had before.

I recently had this dingy stolen. Unfortunately the police recovered it, minus the oars. The marine service shop that is detailing my dingy and serviceing the motor can't find oars for this dingy at any price. When I checked with a local marine store that sells Walker Bay,they say they no longer carry the oars. I think when I visited them some two weeks ago they still had them on their inventory list and they wanted $200 for the pair.

The guy at the store told me to search the web to find some on line.

Also, when I was out on my dingy and the motor stopped I used those oars. They were very difficult to remove from there storage spot, and the dingy didn't row worth a damn.


DO NOT, AND I REPEAT DO NOT BUY ANY THING FROM WALKER BAY.

I had a brand new WB Genisis 310 Hypalon. It started coming apart at the seams first time I used it. I also had problems with the 20hp Merc that came with it, wouldn't idle worth beans. Got the tubes repaired and the motor fixed. According to the repairman something had clogged the carb jets between the time the motor was made and the time I got it. After all was repaired it worked ok, but with a full load it took some effort to get it up to speed. Everyone had to lean forward as far as possible till the boat planed.

After only a couple of months this rib met an unfortunate end on a highway. Insurance paid for it all including the tax and registration fees.

Ended up getting a Zodiac Pro RIB. Way better boat all around even though it wasn't hypalon.

As it happens I still have the WB oars and carry them for emergency use on my current boat. The blade comes off and the handle telescopes, so I think they are pretty nice and they are easy to store.

 

[danderer]

I had a Walker Bay. I will never have another.

The only pieces of that boat I still have are the oars. If you want to see if they'll work for you PM me.

 

[grahamdouglass]

Hey Sailor of fortune

My Merc was actually made pre 2006. It was one of the last 2 cycle Mercs made in the USA before the enviromental regs banned them. So I think it was before Tohatsu got involved. The reason the old merc worked so well is that the tolerances on the engine were a lot looser and it could handle more shelac build up, dirt build up and general knocking about and neglect.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

My Merc was actually made pre 2006. It was one of the last 2 cycle Mercs made in the USA before the enviromental regs banned them. So I think it was before Tohatsu got involved. The reason the old merc worked so well is that the tolerances on the engine were a lot looser and it could handle more shelac build up, dirt build up and general knocking about and neglect.

I'll take a Tohatsu over a Merc any day (over 30hp)

 

[rsn48]

Just add a decent fuel stabilizer to your Tohatsu motor religiously or irreligiously, your choice, and the motor should be good to go. And unblock and let the motor run until the fuel gives out and again, you should be good to go.

 

[Taras]

After buying inflatable RIB’s and CONSTANTLY dealing with slow leaks, I finally bought an ALL FIBERGLASS dingee. Mine is a 14’ Edgewater (made in Florida) with a 40 hp Yamaha. I’m really glad I went to all fiberglass. There’s basically no maintenance now. It is built like a Boston Whaler in that it is unsinkable, but the hull on the Edgewater is a “V”, so it rides much better in the chop. Lastly, the Edgewater has a wide beam. There’s lots of room in it��

 

[BruceK]

There is at least one brand of inflatables sold in Australia fitted with overpressure relief valves to each chamber. That resolves the problem of excess pressure bursting seams on hot days.

 

[FlyWright]

I'm a cheap SOB so I like bargains that provide value. When I walked into the local Costco in spring and saw the Bestway 10' 10" HydroForce dink on sale for $479 a couple years ago, my only concern was how to fit it into the back seat of my sedan! You should have seen the look on my wife's face when asked what was in the back seat and I told her, "Another boat!"

Paired with my late 1990's 2-stoke 15HP motor, it's a great setup. It's PVC so it won't last long if left a while in the sun or water but I have a dink float in a covered slip that makes it easy to deal with for me. For extra protection, I bought a dink cover for $130 that keeps it dry and clean.

YMMV

 

[kthoennes]

I bought our 1984 Yamaha 4HP two stroke dingy motor from a guy in Clinton, Connecticut who pulled it out of a grass lot behind his garage. $350 I think, but I could maybe have bargained him down. That thing will run forever as long as I do a carb kit every decade or so.