Tender Brand Suggestions (Canada)

[kelism]

We are currently in the market for a tender/dinghy for emergency use, as well as taking the kids a shore to do a little beach combing. We are the average family of 4 that go to the coast (Prince Rupert) 10 days a year and 10 days a year of lake use. We might have our golden retriever with us if the tender is suitable to take him to shore. (We have a Bayliner 2859 with extended aluminum fishing deck with rails.)
We are thinking 8-10' with 4-6hp motor. I did check out the AquaMarina, 10'8" at Costco, Stryker LX, Innovocean, but we can't decide which is best or if there are any brands we have missed.
There are so many brands/options/sizes/qualities available I'm looking for any suggestions so we don't get more/spend more than we really need.
Thanks in advance!

 

[zurk]

get a hard tender for beaches.
OCZ - https://octenders.co.nz/
AST - https://ast-yachts.com/
Whaly - https://www.whalyboatsusa.com/

 

[Sharphooks]

Even though an 8-10 foot tender sounds small and manageable, as soon as you go “hard” you have to ask yourself how you’re going to move it from use in the salt chuck to use in a lake. Are you going to deal with a trailer to do that? I have a 10 foot “RIB” (inflatable pontoons attached to a fiberglass floor and transom). That is considered “hard”. There is no way I can move that inflatable off my dock into the back of a pickup truck alone, and it would be sketchy even with two people.

In my for-what-it’s-worth opinion, a “hard” tender is fine if your plan is to leave it on the mothership and you have a winch to move it around, and/or, you have a trailer to bring it to the lake for the freshwater phase of its job description

Meanwhile, I‘m big on inflatables with removable floors with fold-up launch wheels attached to the transom. Multiple decades of use with this approach—-salt chuck, lakes and rivers. Deflate them and roll them up and put them in the back of you SUV —-no stinking trailers required!

The launch wheels keep them well protected from dragging inflatable + gear up and down oyster shell beaches. I have 7 inflatables, all Avons (I favor the hypalon material (now known as Orca Pennel) they use in their construction—-it’s bullet-proof)....my daughters think I”m eccentric with all those Avon inflatables but they all get put to good use and keep me and my dog alive in some sketchy situations. All the ones with hard wood transoms have launch wheels attached—-you can see them in these pics

 

[kaelc]

I’d go for 9-10 footer with 6hp. Make sure it has an inflatable keel or a hard floor with a keel. That way it will track better when rowing and could get on plane with 2 people. Achilles are nice but expensive

 

[Squire]

I bought the Highfield RIB in the 8’ model and I am able to pull it up over the side rail of the boat to put it on the roof rack by myself. I believe it only weighs 68 lbs but there is a bit of an awkward factor. I have to wiggle it around a bit to straighten it out for tying down once on top.
The big advantage of the RIB over the inflatable floors especially for someone with bad knees like me is the stability of stepping down into the boat from the swim platform. I have a F6 Yamaha for it but I mostly row it ashore. I also got the fold up wheels for getting it above the tideline on the beach.

 

[Bill 310]

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strykerboats.com

I am on the Stryker mailing list. They have 4 boats on sale for $1,000 off

 

[TipUp]

Walker Bay boats are very light and manageable solo.

 

[Bill 310]

There are I was told supply chain issues with walker boats. I really liked them and could get the 8 foot on the roof of our boat but none were available.

 

[Totally unexpected]

I have an 8ft Maxxon good lightweight deflatable