A guide to the best tenders for superyachts

Sharp stones, steep drop-offs, inclement weather, and changing tides needn’t worry your crew when you have the luxury of an amphibious tender. Visit almost any secluded cove or spit with virtually no risk of becoming stranded or beached.

Go where other boats simply wouldn’t dare, landing on shorelines in rough breaks and on rugged terrain. Be sure to do your homework, though, as most beaches and marinas will require permission to stroll out the sea on an amphibious tender.

We are all about time spent on the water, but the sensation of stepping off a tender onto the warm sand is in itself a joy to behold. We don’t mean clambering over the side of a rib and bouncing awkwardly into the shallows. We mean stepping from a dry boat onto dry sand.

Whether you intend to spend the day in your swimmers or are off for an island excursion, getting wet feet before you begin should be a choice. 

We offer a beachlander option on any of our aluminium rigid inflatable boats. A compact, button-operated bow staircase gives both guests and crew quick and easy access to the shore with all the versatility of a rib.

Synonymous with the Florida Keys, the traditional centre console (or center console in the US), is typically a single-deck boat with the helm in the middle.

Geared towards recreational fishing, the centre console maximises the floor space while, crucially, allowing for full access around all sides of the boat. On smaller boats, seating is often sacrificed for floor space, while larger centre consoles fitted with cabins creep into the Sports Fisher sector.

Not intended to be an especially dry boat, both crew and guests are often exposed to the elements. The upshot is that centre consoles and, more so, sports fishers, tend to offer huge power, which is especially useful for long day trips from the mainland.

We know for certain that superyacht owners have a thirst for adrenaline, having been asked to design this shadow vessel capable of carrying a 50’ cigarette boat.  

‘Go-fast’ boats, as the name suggests, are built exclusively for speed. More commonly known as ‘cigarette boats’ due to their shape, go-fast boats are not for the faint-hearted. 

A craze immortalised by the Cigarette Racing Team, modern-day cigar boats can achieve speeds of over 100 knots. Largely impractical as a conventional superyacht tender, the range of high-performance boats have thankfully branched more into Centre Consoles. In turn, this presents superyacht owners with a high-performance chase boat of an almost unimaginable spec.

A vessel with very much a military feel, a landing craft tender is designed to carry everything, including vehicles from yacht to shore. 

With our ROAM Landing Craft, a button-operated super-strength bow ramp enables drive-on drive-off capabilities ideal for disembarking heavy items where you don’t have lifting facilities at shore.

Our landing crafts are built with a catamaran hull for enhanced stability. We also manufacture high-quality fold-up motorised boats.

Surely the ultimate statement of sophistication — the limousine tender is the pinnacle mode of guest transfer.

Ranging from 6-14m and accommodating up to eighteen guests in consummate luxury, an often fully enclosed guest cabin will mirror the furnishings of the mothership.

If leisure cruising and lunching was your only pursuit, you’d surely have a picnic boat. The quintessential day cruiser, a picnic boat is unequivocally designed for rest and relaxation on the water.

Inspired by the lobster boats of Maine, where the sloping rails from bow to stern made it easier for lobstermen to haul in their traps, the symbolic Picnic Boat represents everything exciting and romantic about a day out on the water.

The workhorse tender of any yacht is the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). Robust, versatile and highly manoeuvrable, RIBs typically offer the characteristics of speed, buoyancy and good handling on high seas. 

A foam or inflatable collar provides extra buoyancy in the event of taking on water, while in the case of our RIB boats—which have a high deadrise—also acts as a spray rail for keeping the deck dry. Popular with superyachts, RIBs can be towed or stowed and used for a wide range of purposes.

Our Deep-V RIB boats are constructed from aluminium. A highly adaptable material, we are able to build custom RIBs from scratch without incurring expensive and time-consuming tooling adjustments.

Nothing allows us to explore an affinity with water quite like the experience of wakeboarding, wake surfing and water skiing.

We are an official partner of the world-renowned Nautique boats and specialise in their customisation and supply specifically to superyachts.

In accordance with the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), all ships over 500GT (typically 50m+) must carry at least one fully compliant SOLAS Rescue Vessel (and a complement of life rafts). The rescue vessel must be stowed onboard and cannot be towed astern or located on a support vessel.

SOLAS Rescue Vessels must be able to carry five seated persons and a person lying on a stretcher. Vessels must have an automatic self-righting capability and the engine must be able to be restarted following a capsize. Stable in a seaway (and deployable when the mothership is doing 5 knots), rescue boats may be either rigid or inflated and need to be operable in water that is 1-30°C. They also need to be able to start in -30°C air temperature.

First adopted in 1914, the SOLAS Convention was initiated as a direct response to the Titanic disaster. The Convention in use today is often referred to as the “SOLAS, 1974, as amended”. 

For any help and advice relating to SOLAS requirements, contact our team who have a depth of knowledge on the subject.

Can be: Rigid // Stow

Unlike a SOLAS Rescue Vessel that can be inflatable or rigid hull, a lifeboat must have the latter.

Painted bright orange—or Pantone 144—a lifeboat can have a LOA no less than 7.3m.

Can be: Rigid // Tow

A close relative of both the Central Console and High-performance categories, a Sports Fisher is a dedicated recreational fishing boat. Despite there being a range of boats within this category, it’s the Flybridge Sports Fisher that is most synonymous with the name. 

Large boats, often up to 25m, the archetypal fisher is perfectly suited to lengthy, deep-sea fishing trips. Typically built with berths, heads, a galley and a tower (perhaps even a live bait tank, too), a Sports Fsher is for serious big game fishing enthusiasts.

It’s quite a commitment for a superyacht when a large open or utility tender with rod holders would probably just as effective if big game fishing was less of a priority.

Can be: Rigid Inflatable, Inflatable // Open, Chase, Catamaran, Dive // Tow or stow

A utility tender is the most versatile boat on the list. Ticking almost every box, a utility boat is somewhat open to interpretation. As much an entire category as it is an individual tender, a utility boat could easily take the form of a landing craft or open RIB.

Both promote an open deck space and satisfy the needs of crew in all manner of tasks, including the general movement of equipment and vehicles, refuge and provision runs, and guest and crew transfers.