Tenders - RIB vs. Boston Whaler

[GJH]

A Key West is going to be way heavier than a 13 whaler. Davit,deck mounts,tie downs and weight distribution will all be a major factor.

Remember, OP was talking about towing a bigger boat instead of using davit.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Here is a different idea....Our 36 is a bit small for dealing with a dinghy. We use a Hobie tandem pedal kayack. This stores quickly and easily on the swim platform, can be ready to use in a few minutes, and I don't have to deal with a stinky outboard. The pedal units are awesome. We easily cruise at 4 mph using no gas. We are not young, yet pedaling this kayack never seems to tire us. Plenty of storage both on deck and below also. If you have a smaller Hat, take a look at the option of a Hobie kayack for your dinghy. Ours is the tandem "Outfitter" model.

 

[hatteras 1985]

Whalers ride hard and are wet, wet, wet. They are fun to play with but that does not sound like what you are looking for.

This is a fun thread. To be true I think any 15 foot tender should be considered a 'wet boat', be it a Whaler, Key West, Carolina Skiff or an RIB. You will do nothing but pound in a light chop with a 15 footer of any manufacture.

That being said, I am a die hard Whaler fan, I have had my 15 footer since I was a child.

 

[dottieshusband]

Well, maybe a wet ride in the big water, but on our calm lake, it rides like a dream. Took 5 across the lake to a nearby grill Saturday, 25 mph on 50hp, dry stable ride... love my Dauntless!

 

[Plan B2]

I enjoyed reading this one too. I've only had my Hatt for a coupld eof months and in that time I took the 13 Whaler off the davits and straight to an awaiting trailer for some TLC. All the wood needs attention and most of the mounting pints will need some epoxy and paint.
That said; I really had a difficult time getting the boat rigged for lifting. Once I did locate the CG it didn't seem to difficult to use the davitt, but that process is going to take some getting use to. I am also concerned about the foot of the 40hp yamaha hanging over the edge when coming into the slip. Here on the river we have covered slips that most back into.
I had already started thinking about selling the Whaler and going with something a bit smaller. However, after reading this thread,I'll give it and me a season to get to know one another.

 

[JLR]

I have owned a 15' Key West. I really liked the boat but it had very little free board at all and was definitely a bay boat only. ANY sort of chop at all and you were wet. With that said, the fit and finish were to my liking.

 

[rsmith]

Remember, OP was talking about towing a bigger boat instead of using davit.

"I presently have a 12 foot RIB Supersport Avon with a 40 hp engine with the typical davit on the roof of my 54MY. We tend to put the dinghy in and tow and don't bother to lift it up for months at a time."

It sounded as if the OP may have intended to put the tender back on the lift at times.
BTW George how does the new style 13Whaler ride compared to the classic hull? Back when they came out Sams Club had the "new" style 13 with a 40 merc and trailer complete package for $6995 at the time the classic was over $10k. I got a sales pitch from my son everytime we went into Sams how we "needed" the new one and how much better the hull design was.

 

[GJH]

So far I am considering RIBs in the 14-16 range as well as Boston Whalers such as the Montauk or Dauntless in the same size range. I am eager to be done with inflatables and the tube issues just for a change but am also concerned about docking the Hatteras with a whaler tied to the side.

It was that second paragraph that I focused on. Anyway, I have never had the chance to make a comparison old hull to new; have looked at each out of the water but couldn't tell much difference in a casual, non-side-by-side glance. My boat doesn't seem significantly wetter in chop than a lot of RIBS I have tooled around in on boats we chartered, other than a nice deep vee Avon we had once. There is probably as much dock talk myth, both good and bad, about Whalers as there is about Detroits,.

 

[rsmith]

I've wondered how the reverse chine affects the ride and handling.

 

[wsdemmer]

We ditched the whaler (too wet and hard ride) for an Australian Quintrex Dory with a center console and the tank forward. The Dory has high sides and can be easily rowed as well. It is great. Has positive flotation and all welded seams with no rivets. All aluminum with no paint!

 

[Tim Powell]

I've expounded on the Whaler vs RIB issue a few times here so won't bore y'all again, that way at least. We have a 2005 13' 130 Sport. The OP was about towing a larger boat than has been discussed in the responses, but I can comment a bit on that. We have done a lot of towing in the last couple of years, since we have become more stationary cruising wise. The slip we have, and really like, has the finger pier all the way down the starboard side, so I cannot davit the boat on or off while at the dock without some hassle of moving the big boat. We use the Whaler a lot when in port during the nice weather, so towing it was the way to go for us. We use the ocean a lot to get where we like to go, as well as notoriously choppy Neuse River/ Pamlico Sound.

First of all, the 13 tows beautifully in all kinds of sea conditions (well we haven't tried it in 10 footers yet, but multiple times in some miserable 3-6' steep choppy crud in high winds), so I would expect a 15 or larger to do even better. You need to get the small boat positioned correctly, but in my case, since we go 9 knots, not precisely. The logistic hassles leaving and coming into the dock or anchor are moderately more of a PITA than putting the thing on and off the boat deck, but not a lot more. The Whaler being a heavy boat, it is less "wieldy" to back on the chocks.

However, if we were back to full time long distance cruising, I would, as before, far prefer having a boat on the boat deck than towing it around. It definitely adds complexity to getting in and out of a new marina and slip (you essentially have a much longer boat now, with one end that wiggles around a bit), and often times will cost you more in slip fees and restrict what sort of slip you can be allowed in. Going from anchorage to anchorage, it's not so bad, save for when you are having to wait for a bridge to open, which can be another big PITA with a tow. Fendering the boat off the swim platform can be a challenge in rough weather, especially when various forces may be slamming the tender up against the big boat, with one going up and the other down at the same time;yes, it happens even when they are tied together. and if you let it drift off away from the big boat under those conditions it just gets that much more of a head start. We considered going to a bigger, towed boat since we enjoy exploring around so much and a little more space and freeboard would be nice, but have scratched that idea given the above. But that's just us. We like the Edgewaters a lot in that mid teens size range, moreso that the Whalers; Scout had a nice boat too, may still.

I do have to comment that a 13' Whaler will hold a LOT more stuff than a similarly sized RIB, forget the weight capacities. We went to MIBS one year with the thought of changing to save some weight, etc. The Whaler is what came with the boat so at that point we weren't married to it. We looked at dozens of RIBS from every mfr and none came close in interior room. Since the tender is the family car for us when we stay on moorings for a large part of the season, being able to haul guest luggage, groceries, supplies, people and stuff is a big consideration. Its also a very easy platform to fish from, and putting a hook or a gaff in the side just requires gel coat.

Hay George i also noticed that whaler has a top for shade. I do not belive i have seen a small rib with a top or sun shade. The top has got to come in handy at the cape Tim

 

[GJH]

Yeah we put one on there for being down in Florida and it is really nice to have.

Per another question rsmith had which I hadn't seen until today, perhaps the newer 13's do ride a little smoother. After six years now of heavy year around, sometimes daily use, I never really understood what all the dockside lore about Whalers being rough and pounding was about, was thinking about that just yesterday as we were clipping along across the bight. Maybe it arose from the older ones. The only Rib I have been in that seemed to ride better was a 14 or 15' Avon which was a big heavy deep V.