Luxury yacht tender
Encyclopedia
A luxury yacht tender is a transport used to service and to provide support and entertainment to a private or charter luxury yacht
. Known commonly as the 'yacht's tender' a luxury yacht tender
will often be a rigid-hulled inflatable boat
(RIB) which features cushioned inflatable rubber inner tubes around its rigid (usually fibreglass) hull to protect the yacht when in close contact.
Other types of luxury yacht tender include inflatable boat
s, which are almost completely synthetic rubber or plastic, center console boats, and also rigid inflatable boats (RIB's) which are usually constructed from materials such as fibreglass, wood, steel or aluminium with inflatable synthetic rubber or plastic sponsons. Multifunction dinghies have recently become available as yacht tenders. These unsinkable dinghies can be rowed, motored, or sailed, and they also function as proactive lifeboats. Tenders are usually motor powered by outboard motor
engines or inboard engines burning either petrol/gasoline
or diesel. They use either propeller
s or more recently impeller
s as utilized by water jet boats.
A recent addition to luxury yacht tenders is the small personal hovercraft, such as the Hov Pod, which can also drive onto beaches or up ramps, to carry passengers on land.
Luxury yacht tenders like other types of ship's tender
, whilst often used to transport supplies and personnel, are also used for the entertainment and pleasure of the yacht's passengers. Accordingly, the tenders will be employed as pleasure craft
or speed boats to drag banana
s and for waterskiing, wakeboarding
and also to transport and service leisure scuba set
diving.
In recent years there has been increased development in the luxury yacht tender market. There is now greater importance given to whether a yacht includes a large tender which boasts all the latest features. Private yachts are being built with stern garages which house the tender and also other associated 'water toys'. Powerful davit
s are installed on the yacht’s decks to mechanically lift increasingly heavier tenders.
There are many companies which specialize in the design, construction and distribution of luxury yacht tenders. Some of the more established, and well known, suppliers for production and semi production tenders include "Aquascan"(originator of the jet drive RIB),"Xtenders", Novurania, Avon, Protector, Williams and Zodiac.
The increasing trend towards large custom tenders such as limousines, landing craft and chase boats is supported by classic boatbuilders such as Hacker-Craft
and lesser known companies such as Miller Yachts. Because there is now a large and established tender industry, yacht tenders are also increasingly being used more widely by those who do not own or use yachts, but wish to enjoy their tender as an entertainment in its own right.
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
. Known commonly as the 'yacht's tender' a luxury yacht tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
will often be a rigid-hulled inflatable boat
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
(RIB) which features cushioned inflatable rubber inner tubes around its rigid (usually fibreglass) hull to protect the yacht when in close contact.
Other types of luxury yacht tender include inflatable boat
Inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...
s, which are almost completely synthetic rubber or plastic, center console boats, and also rigid inflatable boats (RIB's) which are usually constructed from materials such as fibreglass, wood, steel or aluminium with inflatable synthetic rubber or plastic sponsons. Multifunction dinghies have recently become available as yacht tenders. These unsinkable dinghies can be rowed, motored, or sailed, and they also function as proactive lifeboats. Tenders are usually motor powered by outboard motor
Outboard motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
engines or inboard engines burning either petrol/gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
or diesel. They use either propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s or more recently impeller
Impeller
An impeller is a rotor inside a tube or conduit used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid.- Impellers in pumps :...
s as utilized by water jet boats.
A recent addition to luxury yacht tenders is the small personal hovercraft, such as the Hov Pod, which can also drive onto beaches or up ramps, to carry passengers on land.
Luxury yacht tenders like other types of ship's tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
, whilst often used to transport supplies and personnel, are also used for the entertainment and pleasure of the yacht's passengers. Accordingly, the tenders will be employed as pleasure craft
Pleasure craft
A pleasure craft is a boat used for personal, family, and sometimes sportsmanlike recreation. Typically such watercraft are motorized and are used for holidays, for example on a river, lake, canal or waterway. Pleasure craft are normally kept at a marina...
or speed boats to drag banana
Banana boat (boat)
A banana boat, also known as a water sled and often referred to simply as a banana, is an inflatable recreational boat meant for towing. It was invented by Glenn Matthews in the late 1980s. Different models usually accommodate three to ten riders sitting on a larger, main tube and resting their...
s and for waterskiing, wakeboarding
Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques....
and also to transport and service leisure scuba set
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
diving.
In recent years there has been increased development in the luxury yacht tender market. There is now greater importance given to whether a yacht includes a large tender which boasts all the latest features. Private yachts are being built with stern garages which house the tender and also other associated 'water toys'. Powerful davit
Davit
A davit is a structure, usually made of steel, which is used to lower things over an edge of a long drop off such as lowering a maintenance trapeze down a building or launching a lifeboat over the side of a ship....
s are installed on the yacht’s decks to mechanically lift increasingly heavier tenders.
There are many companies which specialize in the design, construction and distribution of luxury yacht tenders. Some of the more established, and well known, suppliers for production and semi production tenders include "Aquascan"(originator of the jet drive RIB),"Xtenders", Novurania, Avon, Protector, Williams and Zodiac.
The increasing trend towards large custom tenders such as limousines, landing craft and chase boats is supported by classic boatbuilders such as Hacker-Craft
Hacker-Craft
Hacker-Craft is the name given to boats built by The Hacker Boat Co., the oldest builder of wooden motorboats in the world. It is an American company, founded in Watervliet, New York in the early 1900s by John Ludwig Hacker...
and lesser known companies such as Miller Yachts. Because there is now a large and established tender industry, yacht tenders are also increasingly being used more widely by those who do not own or use yachts, but wish to enjoy their tender as an entertainment in its own right.