Light durable small Tender

Well Sea Bear is in a yard getting her new engine, genset and a stern thruster so now putting my attention towards tenders.
I have a 13ft AB RIB with a 40hp and a 11.5 Bullfrog with a 30hp but which ever I bring on longer trips will likely sit on deck until I get to a specific destination. I'm looking for an ultra light aluminum row boat in the 8-10 ft range that can be used for stern lines, dog trips to shore, etc and could be pulled up on shore if we decided to go for a hike somewhere without worrying about tides. Oddly such a boat does not seem to exist, the closest I have found is the walker bay 8 but it's over 100lbs and fiberglass so would need a lot of care around rocks.

Big plus if the tender was a good rower.

Has anyone seen or have something like I'm describing?

Thanks
AC

I used a Water Tender 9.4 for over 10 years. Its vacu-formed plastic, weighs 106 lbs. Because of the hull shape great capacity and stability. We pulled it over rocks all the time, because its so light no more damage than scratches. Rows OK, not great, planes with one person a 5 HP.

Like with any dink, we abused the hell out of this thing and it just did its job, without breaking the bank. You can see mine pulled up on the swim platform of my avatar photo

https://www.sundolphin.com/water-tender/

Not sure how well it would row, but the dog would probably fit in the back...

If the dog sat in back, the dog would need to know how to drive,

Walker Bays are not fiberglass. They are injection molded high density polyethylene, pigment loaded which affords UV protection.

I know several people with them and maybe not the greatest rowers, but decent as the owners did row them , are adequate and should be well within your needs as described. They were very happy with them as they were far better than the alternatives.

Beach them on the rocks or barnies and they will get marked as will any boat. But they are tough and will withstand that. Any damage will be cosmetic.

I looked at the site and the 8' is 71 lbs. or so they say.
Walker Bay

As for rocks any boat is going to suffer. I have a a fiberglass Livingston and beach it when needed. Granted I don't like it but I also don't fuss either as it is the only dinghy we have and if we wish to go ashore then there isn't much choice.

Aluminum would be good too but most of the ones I see are larger intended for fishing applications so at least 12' +.

FWIW.

Good to know about the walkers, ill go look at them. It's too bad nobody makes a walker type replica in aluminum... but then I guess I have to worry more about fenders and marking up the big boat.

I really like the aluminum hull RIBs, and have been looking at smaller ones that can be hauled up a beach. In the 8-9 foot range, they seem to be sub 100 lbs. The tubes still are somewhat exposed, but seem pretty durable.

Why not ask one of the small custom shops in your area to weld one up for you? It's really just a stubby skiff and hundreds of those are made every year up there. Since it's a tender and not a working skiff you can make it from thinner alloy to save weight. Essentially any small boat designed in plywood can be built in sheet aluminum with minimal alteration, so look around, order a set of plans and get a few quotes.

This thread id of interest to me as I am also looking for a small light weight tender. On that looks interesting ins the Oliver Boat Tender, but it weights about 140 lbs. It looks like an inflatable, but is Roto-Molded Plastic and should stand up we;ll to rocks. I have a kayak made of the same material and it does get scratched and take a lot of abuse. The only place I have to carry a small tender is on the swim platform and don't want to go longer than 9 feet.

Smokercraft makes the 12 foot Canadian that weighs 112 pounds. I have owned 2 larger Smokercraft boats and they do well on our rocky beaches.

A 10 ft. Jon boat is the closest that I could come to your specs. A Lowe L1032 Jon weights 80 lbs. https://www.loweboats.com/jon-boats/l1032-jon/#specifications

Jon boats are often spec'd by length and bottom width. The "1032" model is 10 ft. long and 32 in. wide in the bottom.

Jon boats do not row or paddle well in my experience, but they are darn near indestructible. I have a 1976 model that my father used for duck hunting. It's been dragged through sand so much that it began leaking through the ribs. We caulked the ribs from the inside and are still using it for pond dam maintenance.

Sears made a lot of v-hull, aluminum boats, but most are 12 ft. or more.

Sounds like a job for Porte Bote. We've used one for years. They row ok, weight around 75 pounds, handle a 3 hp motor, are too ugly to steal and are indestructible. What's not to like?

They also tow great, but only when sucked up to the stern. Otherwise they are squirrel city, but because they fold up into something about the size of a SUP, we generally don't bother towing.

While fiberglass shiny gel coat does get scratched, a well made glass dingy is pretty durable.

Yes heavy if made that way....they dont have to be.

I was bored, so I surfed a little and found:

Aerocraft made them: Here's a link to a craigslist add for reference. Its a dated add but you can see a picture of the boat:
8ft 196x AeroCraft F-8? | AeroCraft Boats

These guys make a really ugly 8 foot aluminum boat with a 5 foot beam ( ?????) that weighs 100 pounds.They will also custom build for you:
Aluminum Fishing Boats - Koffler Boats 541-688-6093 Eugene, OR

Laser Performance Sailing Bug. Here's a rotomolded ( very durable ) 8 foot sailboat that looks like a blast to sail, but can be rowed or powered, has built in oars and a wheel built into the bow for dragging up on shore. Its 100 pounds I think...its getting late....memory is fading.
https://www.westcoastsailing.net/default/bug.html

OK....now I'm just cutting and pasting from websites
Ultra-durable, rotationally molded polyethylene 8' dinghy.Easily fits in pick-up truck. 98 lbs. Excellent for fly-fishing, crabbing, hunting. Easy yacht tender.
Great maneuverability. Ultra stable. Rows well. MSRP $895.00
http://dogfishboats.com/

$1200, 8 foot mini-boston whaler ( my words ): The 8 foot pirate dinghy. These are 8 foot long and 4 feet wide, built out of composite, light enough to lift at 65 pounds rding from the boat....Lots of things can puncture an inflatable dinghy....... or you could damage the bottom if you pull it onto a rocky beach. With a hard bottom dinghy there is no worrying about sharp objects.
8ft Pirate Dinghy

Delfin said:

Sounds like a job for Porte Bote. We've used one for years. They row ok, weight around 75 pounds, handle a 3 hp motor, are too ugly to steal and are indestructible. What's not to like?

They also tow great, but only when sucked up to the stern. Otherwise they are squirrel city, but because they fold up into something about the size of a SUP, we generally don't bother towing.

Click to expand...

+1

Buster Mini | Buster aluminium boats

I'll third the Porta Boat recommendation of Carl. I bought one used and after almost 20 years of beating it to death I stupidly sold it none the worse for wear. Rowed great with two fat redneck duck hunters and two overstuffed bags of decoys overloading and abusing it.

The Buster Mini is a sharp little rig, but at 102 kg it's no lightweight.....