tenders for ribs

[mark hannaford]

i,ve been running my 585 ribcraft for the past two years and found that beaching it is a problem, i am considering purchasing a tender , i already have a 4 hp suzuki on the transom to use .
from my research the 240 zodiac seems to be the best buy, its light and compact(smallest bag on the market)
does anyone have experience of using a tender with a 6m rib?
mark

[Alice]

Yep, we have a QS 2.3m which it,s a bit of a Ribfull and we only really take it for the kids to play around with. Beaching is an art, always wear shorts or better still, i wear a shorty wetsuit pulled down with a jacket (this time of year) on top. Always back onto the beach and hold it bow out, this way the waves will run under the boat. Get it beam on and a tiny little 1ft ripple will all but chuck the boat over. Get people and kit off and the wade out and bung the anchor. Or when warmer, anchor off and swim in

[Mouldy]

I use one of these with my 5.5m Delta to get close to basking sharks.

http://www.realshopping.co.uk/acatal...RER_KAYAK.html

It fits on deck down the side fully inflated and held with bungees - it's narrower than a tender so doesn't stick out above the tubes too much.
Only takes 2-3 minutes with the footpump to inflate if you want to carry it bagged.

I've carried wife and 2 kids under 10 + picnic with no problems - Can't say you'll stay completely dry - depends on your paddle technique but you can get dinky petrol motors for them. I've found it very stable - the tubes are large diameter and it's only tipped me out when I got side on to a 4 foot breaker close in. It's great fun 1-up in the surf! Well, it felt like a 4 footer.

I'd hate to swap the auxiliary off the transom over water...

[Alice]

Originally Posted by Mouldy

I use one of these with my 5.5m Delta to get close to basking sharks.

http://www.realshopping.co.uk/acatal...RER_KAYAK.html

It's a Grand!!!!

You could get one of these for £9.99.

www.2atoms.com/video/ haha/head_rush_tn.jpg

[Mouldy]

It's certainly a grand kayak

[Millermob]

we've got the 2.4 zodiac zoom, not had chance to use it yet but it seems to be very high quality but light as well, can carry it in one arm no probs.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by mark hannaford

from my research the 240 zodiac seems to be the best buy, its light and compact(smallest bag on the market)

Have a look at Lodestar - http://www.lodestardirect.co.uk - they do an "ultralight" and it's better priced than the Zodiac.

[Nasher]

The inflatable Kayak is a great idea, but that one is so expensive compared to others I can't see how they have sold out.


Nasher.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Richard B

Have a look at Lodestar - http://www.lodestardirect.co.uk - they do an "ultralight" and it's better priced than the Zodiac.

I saw one of their little "Billy no mates" inflatables at the London Boat Show in January, and it looked perfect for a RIB tender. I think it was from the NSA range, not the Ultralight, but there's not much weight difference anyway. I had a picture of it somewhere, but I can find it now . . .

The little Lodestars have inflatable keels which is quite unusual, as most others seem to stick with flat floors under about 3m.

I would be tempted to go for the NSA230 as it's a decent size, packs to the same size as the smaller models and only weighs a few kilos more.

John

[Mouldy]

The kayaks are sold out probably as they were on sale at £679. I think I paid about £700 a year ago - it was cheaper than getting one from the States.
I looked at some of the less expensive PVC ones, but the quality on the Sea Eagle is fantastic - proper valves, triple layered seams, closeable self bailers front and back for in the surf.