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THE TEST BEST The Tiwal 2 genuinely feels for all the world FOR GROUP TEST like a small performance and inspires SAILING The sail felt a little FUN small in light winds, but still confidence to throw her around. She did, packed some power however, feel possible to capsize, whereas the other on test felt much more stable. SAILING TENDERS The sail works effectively but was a little short on power in the relatively light conditions for A metal frame holds the mast our test day. I suspect with a bigger sail or a and daggerboard and We put half a dozen portable sailing tenders to the test to see which provides rigidity bit more breeze a modest-sized crew could easily get her onto the plane, which would be ones really deserve a place on your , writes Toby Heppell impressive for an boat that is small enough to throw into an onboard locker.

Long-gone are the days that would We wanted to try out vessels that offered each bag, giving us a fair idea of how UNDER MOTOR lash a clinker dinghy to the deck, or tow it the best of both worlds – genuinely realistically portable each is and how The boat as tested had no option to attach an bobbing astern, replaced instead by the portable tenders that also double up as much space it might take up on board. outboard making her something of a one-trick ubiquitous inflatable rubber tender. For capable sailing . We then assembled each boat and pony. However, the manufacturer has all it’s pack-down convenience, however, The Seal, a new product, most closely timed how long it took from packed to recently developed an engine mount, which these bulbous craft have never been easy resembles the once popular Tinker ready. Whilst assembly will always get can replace the rudder stock (available to row, and mostly can’t be sailed, Tramp. The two Dinghy Go dinghies are quicker with practice, some January 2020 and compatible with all prompting heavy reliance on outboards, the closest to conventional tenders, but manufacturers sent representatives for TIWAL 2 models). Swapping the two over would be a £4,350 and with it, losing a peaceful means of with rigid inflatable floors, centreboard the test, easing our learning process. fairly simple process, though we found it was exploring new harbours. With a sail and casings and stayless rigs. The Seahopper Once on the water, both Toby Heppell This was by a good SPECIFICATIONS this particular much easier to attach the rudder stock when reasonable rowing abilities, however, you will delight traditionalists and fans of and Theo Stocker took the boat out for distance the favoured LENGTH: 2.8m model, setup speed the main hull was partially deflated. As such can get around without a noisy engine, hard tenders, while folding completely a spin, sailing the boats upwind and sailing dinghy of all those BEAM: 1.9m is something of a we feel it’s more likely you will decide before occupy family for hours on end, and sail flat, and the two wildcards were the downwind, as a well as rowing and on test. The second TOTAL WEIGHT: 49kg unique selling point. use whether you would be using her with a up creeks that a could never explore. MiniCat Guppy and the Tiwal 2, both motoring those that were equipped to iteration of this inflatable BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: The rig is made of a motor or with a sail. 148cm x 40cm x 35cm New inflatable technologies, such as of which offer plenty of fun afloat and do so (the MiniCat and the Tiwal sailing dinghy is smaller three-piece glassfibre Without a cockpit of any real description, ASSEMBLY TIME: 13min lightweight fabrics and drop-stich could double as tenders if needed. were not equipped with rowlocks or an and faster to assemble mast that simply the Tiwal 2 is never going to make a WEBSITE: www.tiwal.com/en construction enabling rigid high outboard bracket). We measured than the Tiwal 3 but has slots together like a particularly practical tender but we felt she pressure structures, have opened HOW WE TESTED THEM rough speed via GPS to give us an idea retained much of the mast. The could carry two adults and a bag or two. the door to all-round We judged the six craft against a few of what speeds could be achieved. sailability of the larger model. Dacron sail features vertical battens Things on deck are likely to get a bit wet; that are far more capable key factors. First we measured the size The weather during our test Of all those we tested, the Tiwal 2 making it easy to roll around the provided you accept this and store your than their predecessors. of the bags in which the dinghies and was a little variable with falls mostly into the toy category rather mast when not sailing and a two-piece shoreside kit in a dry bag then using her to all their kit were stowed, and weighed winds between 7-13 knots than being an out-and-out tender. As ‘’, similar in design to a thick get from to shore would be possible. and minimal wave state. such she has no cockpit, with the main sail batten, slots into a sock at the inflating hull being something closer base of the sail. ROWING to a paddleboard. A metal tripod holds There are no rowlocks so rowing will never both daggerboard and mast in position SETUP be an option. Being generous, without the rig offering a solid frame from which The Tiwal 2 was the fastest boat to in, you could probably treat her a bit like a much of the performance of the boat assemble in our test from packed to standup paddleboard but she is too large to is derived. This boat also required ready-to-sail. In total she took 13 do this very effectively. the highest pressure when inflating. minutes to put together. Much of this Though it would be possible to inflate speed came from her simplicity – so YM VERDICT it with the included hand pump – even after owning her for a while this If you want a simple, quick and easy sailing variations of which come as standard time would only come down a fraction. toy that can double as a makeshift tender, with all the inflatables on test – ideally It must also be noted the final few this is the one for you. Realistically this you would want an electric pump to minutes of building time were largely seems rather more a boat you might store achieve that pressure without either waiting for the electric pump to finish on board and let the kids race around in exhausting yourself before you have hit getting her to the required pressure. while you are at anchor. She certainly sails the water or significantly increasing the This will always be a limiting factor in better than the other options on test and time it takes to put her together. With terms of time to the water. doesn’t pretend to offer much else. There is little to report on in terms of difficulty or confusion. She was the The Tiwal 2 is fun to sail easiest boat to assemble. As with the but has limited practicality other inflatables we tested she comes as a working tender in two bags, one containing the main inflatable hull and the other for rig, sails, daggerboard and rudder etc. The Tiwal 2 was the second lightest of the boats on test, weighing in at 30kg Like most inflatable for the main boat bag and 19kg for the dinghies,the packed boat is fairly heavy and rig bag. As with everything on test the portable only over short distances larger bag is quite cumbersome and would be difficult to carry any distance.

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THE TEST SAILING The mainsail can be easily Under sail, the Seal was well balanced, scandalised, adding versatility thanks to her two-sail setup. The general view of the testers, however, was that the mainsail could be a little bigger and provide The headsail helps with a touch more power. That said, she was the upwind performance second fastest under sail of those we Oars clip into the rowlocks and measured – though, again these remain attached measurements should be taken with a pinch of salt due to the variable and puffy conditions we experienced on our test day. It was easier to handle both sails than it had been on the Seahopper, with well-placed cleats for the jib sheets. Two adults would fit while sailing, but she has slightly less room than the Seahopper and you would expect that primarily she would be sailed in solo.

UNDER MOTOR The Seal motored along quickly and was second only to the Seahopper in terms of outright speed. The tiller has a nice detail SEAL (PROTOTYPE) in that when sailing it has a ‘u’ bend in it, £Pending allowing you to lift the rudder, unlock the tiller First and foremost, the SPECIFICATIONS SETUP and rotate it 90°, providing enough space Seal inflatable dinghy we LENGTH: 2.8m Set up for the Seal was to mount an outboard to one side without tested was a prototype with BEAM: 1.5m straightforward and having to take the rudder stock off. Steering some small modifications TOTAL WEIGHT: 57kg took a comparable time is then with the rudder rather than engine. to come. Specifically she DIMENSIONS (FOLDED): to the two Dingy Go The jib can be dropped easily and the 110cm x 68cm x 40cm does not yet have the two models – both of which mainsail, thanks to its sprit rig, is easily ASSEMBLY TIME: 23min bags within which she will are similar in hull scandalised with a single line. CONTACT: [email protected] be supplied as standard. design, though without These small details mean this is probably We measured the longest the hard bow. the quickest and simplest of all the options parts of all the equipment to come up It is worth noting on the Seal dinghy we tried to convert from sailing mode to with the rough dimensions the bags that both the thwart and a small either rowing or motoring. would be in the final instance. We’re forward section slot into a groove along The Seal has a flat hull rather than the reasonably certain that we have provided rubber runners down either side of V-shaped hull of her competitors, a small an accurate representation of the size each piece. This is much easier to do detail that reduced her directional stability, the bags will be, but in this instance the when the tubes are not fully inflated. though not badly. measurements in the comparison table With a bit of practice (and an electric should be taken as a guideline. pump) this could be done as the boat is ROWING The Seal is most directly comparable inflating but if forgotten it would mean The Seal rowed easily with oars that remain to the Dinghy Go models (p90) though deflating the tubes slightly to install attached to the inbuilt rowlocks clipped onto with some differences. She is one of them and then re-inflating. the side tubing when not in use. Again this two boats tested with a stayed rig As previously mentioned the Seal makes converting from sailing mode to and headsail with a sprit mainsail, comes with headsail and mainsail, rowing mode a quick and simple task. reminiscent of an Optimist dinghy. which adds to the complexity of the As with all inflatable tenders she performed As with the other two-sailed option setup. In light of this we were surprised less well rowing into a stiff headwind and on test, the Seahopper (p86), this extra when we stopped the stopwatch to find particularly with the scandalised mainsail she sail adds complexity to the it had taken only a few minutes longer was hard work. Drop the main, however, and process but does help balance when than the single-sailed Dinghy Go the rig if necessary, and the effort required sailing her. The headsail also means varieties. This is the a prototype of drops significantly. With the rig out she that the mainsail can be much smaller the dinghy and production versions compared well with all the others on test. than on the single-sailed variations. will be available early next year. YM VERDICT A topping lift lets The Seal and the Seahopper were pretty you scandalise even in terms of interchangeability between the main for sailing, rowing and motoring modes. Both short rows felt as though you could go out sailing with a motor on the stern and choose whether to continue sailing, fire up the engine or row. The Seal we tested was a prototype and would normally be stowed. Once available this will be an impressive all-round option, The thwart is slotted in while and we imagine anyone who harks back to the boat is partially inflated Tinker Tramp dinghies will find this familiar.

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THE TEST The red sails give the boat SAILING a similar look to a Sitting in the Seahopper feels like sitting in a Mirror dinghy proper little boat. She doesn’t have the wide The headsail helps buoyancy of an inflatable but felt stable. performance but jib sheets Under sail the Seahopper was traditionally get tangled on halyard a rigger with a gunter mainsail and small jib. cleats when tacking The wind was fading slightly when we sailed her, so she felt a little under-powered. As a direct comparison to the other boats on test she performed well, but the boat’s small- dinghy feel lead us to hope for a slightly more finessed finish and slightly better handling under sail. The fit out was fairly rudimentary in terms of sheets, cleats and fairleads. For example, the horn cleats on the mast would The varnished ply shouldn’t have been better as camcleats to prevent need much some maintenence the jib sheets getting caught when tacking, to keep it in good condition and the cleats for the jib cleats, essential when single handed, weren’t so easy to use. Having said that she handles predictably and sails efficiently to windward. We’d just have liked a slightly more polished SEAHOPPER KONDOR sailing performance. £3,499 This was the only folding SPECIFICATIONS SETUP UNDER MOTOR boat in our test and looks LENGTH: 3.05m When laid out the The Seahopper motors very nicely indeed. for all the world like a BEAM: 1.42m Seahopper has more She was the fastest of all the boats under small Mirror dinghy – TOTAL WEIGHT: 64kg separate components power. Again, she gave more of a sense of her red sails doing little BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: than the other craft a sit-in tender than any others on test. Ideally 360cm x 68cm x 17cm to discourage the on test, but we were we suspect that the Seahopper would want ASSEMBLY TIME: 18min comparison. She is surprised how intuitive a single passenger to sit on the thwart for www.seahopperfoldingboats.com beautifully crafted from and easy she was to put which an extension arm would be required marine ply, gleaming in together. Officially our to get weight far enough forward. She could the sun under her varnish. As such she set up time was 18 minutes, making her carry a family of four and their bags for ship- is far away the most aesthetically the second fastest of the group to put to-shore purposes at a pinch. pleasing of all the dinghies we tested. together. Though we are inclined to We raised concerns over the need to offer her joint first place in this category ROWING revarnish but were told she would sit as she was ready to row in just five As with all rigid dinghies, keeping your outside happily enough in her folded minutes, with the remainder of the time weight central is important, particularly state without the need for regular being given over to rigging up the sails, when stepping down from a yacht. revarnishing for several years. sheets, shrouds and so on. Once seated centrally on the thwart and For what was the biggest and most The Seahopper was one of the three with oars deployed, however, she rows like a sailing dinghy of all those we options we tested that comes with a extremely well, aided by her proper wooden tested, the Seahopper was remarkably stayed mast and headsail and this oars. Where all the other boats tested were quick and uncomplicated to set up. necessarily has an effect in terms of inflatable and so were much trickier to row Smaller 2m and 2.4m versions are time and complexity in rigging. into a headwind, the Seahopper surged available, but as Seahoppers don’t fold Her overall weight is not much more ahead easily. We tried rowing her with mast longitudinally, she was the biggest than the others on test, most of this is and rigging still attached, and though it when stowed. Realisitically, you can in the hull, making lifting her a added a little reistance, she was still easily see her flat packed and strapped two-man job. During set up it is clear remarkably easy to row. to the bow but stowage below for most that everything has been well thought would be unlikely for all but the through and there are lots of nice little YM VERDICT 2m-long Seahopper Scamp. This touches, like the buckles that click the The size of the Seahopper when folded was her only major flaw. thwarts into place. counts against her when compared to boats which stow neatly into one or two bags. All Under engine, the Set up to ready-to-row Seahopppers are customisable to a degree Seahopper was took under five minutes on order so our few gripes when sailing easily the fastest could easily be rectified before or after purchase. The Seahopper is clearly a boat you might use to go further afield – perhaps exploring upstream after anchoring in a river – as well as a mere tender, where the other boats on test were more of a compromise. To our eye she is the prettiest of all those on offer and would be something to be proud of rather than merely a convenience tool.

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The sail was a little frustrating THE TEST in the light weather with SAILING the full battens getting stuck We had fairly high hopes for the MiniCat on the mast after a tack under sail and in the gusts of a dying breeze, she showed she would be fun in a blow, An adjustable forestay but without more wind, we were a little allows for decent rig tension disappointed. The wind was at the lighter end to be achieved of the range when we were out on the water on her. She certainly suffers from the age-old difficulty of in that she was very difficult to tack in the light winds. As with most dinghies she is helmed from a trampoline between the two hulls and as such is very much a sit on, not in, experience. We found it quite difficult to find the right position to sit on her and felt we A system of beams and a were either too far aft, dragging the transoms, central spine gives some or too far forward, digging the bows, perhaps rigidity to the boat a function of her diminutive size. That being said, she was simple to sail in a straight line and had bags of stability. As with the Tiwal 2 she would be ideal for sailing around in for a bit of fun while the boat is at MINICAT GUPPY anchor. You might fit two youngsters on her £2,595 but it would be a squeeze for adults. The MiniCat Guppy is SPECIFICATIONS and the lack of a newer model to her LENGTH: 3m an occasional bit of advice YM VERDICT BEAM: 1.5m bigger sister, the certainly added to this. The MiniCat Guppy is certainly the most TOTAL WEIGHT: 31kg MiniCat 420. The Officially, it took us portable of all the options we tested. We can

Guppy was the only BAG DIMENSIONS: 38 minutes from bag forgive the time it took to set up as this 161cm x 33cm x 33cm catamaran we had on to beach, but our testers would almost certainly get quicker with use. ASSEMBLY TIME: 38min test. In terms of agreed this would be However, she was not as fun to sail as the WEBSITE: www.minicatamaran.eu usability, she was up quicker a second time. Tiwal 2 and she lacks the versatility of the against the Tiwal 2 in The boat has a metal others. There also seems to be a few odd that she is aimed more at fun sailing central spine upon which the mast and decisions made in the design process, like that tender work. The Guppy has been the rudder stock sit. This is locked into the small size of the rudder, and the fully designed to be more portable and quicker the forward and aft beams – ready battened mainsail. to assemble than the previous 420. She attached to the two inflatable hulls out The larger MiniCat 420 has the option of certainly ticks the more-portable box and of the bag – via a large pin and an outboard mount, so becomes a more was the only boat in our test that came in retaining rings at either end. Both ends useful option as a tender, though for that the a single bag and was fully 17kg lighter of the central spine need to be offered bags are almost double the size. overall than the next lightest. Certain up to the beams simultaneously. It was For children messing around in a boat of features feel a little lightweight when she certainly a two-man job, though there’s their own at anchor, this is a toy that could is fully rigged, however. Each hull has almost certainly a knack to it. easily fit onto a larger yacht. On smaller an attachable skeg, which slot into the The rig was easy to set up with a boats where space is at a premium, we hulls via a pocket. These plastic skegs simple three-piece aluminium mast would want more of an all-round dinghy. felt rather brittle though only time and a pocket in the luff of the sail into would tell if they are up to being which the mast slides. Shrouds and dragged up beaches and slipways. forestay all come connected to one The Guppy would be fun in a blow. In light winds, the piece of metal that attaches to the mast battens didn’t pop through SETUP about two thirds of the way up, and The MiniCat took a lot longer than any spring clips make attaching them to the other boat we tested to set up, at over metal trampoline frame easy. A small half an hour. However, she was the only central rudder provides steerage, and boat without a representative on site other propulsion would be via paddles.

Putting it together a second The MiniCat Guppy took time would certainly the longest to assemble be easier

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Boat Bags Total Sailing Motoring Folded size Assembly Price The Nomad3 performs predictably weight speed speed cm (L,W,D) time and is comfortable under engine The sail is just the right size THE TEST (knots) (knots) (minutes) to be easy to handle for SAILING kids but lacks power upwind The Nomad 3 sails relatively well but feels Dinghy Go 2 18kg + 4 4.6 120 x 43 x 22 21 £2,750 rather more like a rowing-and-motoring tender Nomad3 30kg + 100 x 61 x 25 with a sail. As such, her upwind performance Dinghy Go 2 20kg + 4.2 4.7 120 x 41 x 26 21 £3,250 leaves a bit to be desired and she generates Orca 31kg + 106 x 68 x 36 a significant amount of leeway. This isn’t a major Tiwal 2 2 19kg + 3.8 N/A 110 x 41 x 29 13 £4,350 issue and she sails along well but making 30kg + 148 x 40 x 35 The oars were surprisingly significant headway to weather is a slightly slow good for rowing process. For sailing around in a harbour or off Seal 2 19kg + 4.6 5.2 (Deflated boat) 23 £TBC DINGHY GO the beach she works well enough. (prototype) (none 38kg 110 x 68 x 40 With a bigger sail area and more aggressively for test) NOMAD3 veed hull, we were keen to see if the Orca could MiniCat 1 31kg 3.8 N/A 161 x 33 x 33 38 £2,595 deliver more performance and make her a more Guppy £2,750 viable option for ship-to-shore under sail alone. Seahopper 3 38kg + 4.5 5.4 320 x 68 x 17 5 (row) £3,499 SPECIFICATIONS Results were mixed. The Orca does make better LENGTH: 2.75m Kondor 10kg + knots + 360 x 23 x 13 18 (total) headway to weather, but carries a lot of lee BEAM: 1.5m 16kg + 109 x 45 x 17 helm. She is 50cm longer than the Nomad, and TOTAL WEIGHT: 48kg it seems much of this additional length has been BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: With thanks to Nestaway Boats, supplier for Tiwal and DinghyGo, for their help with this test. 120cm x 43cmx 22cm added forward of the thwart and daggerboard. www.nestawayboats.com ASSEMBLY TIME: 21min With the increased sail area and the mast still at the bow, the Orca has become a little unbalanced with too much sail in front of the daggerboard. It takes some getting used to, The sail is probably a touch but she does go to windward better than her far forward relative to the smaller counterpart. BEST daggerboard, giving lee helm ALL-ROUND UNDER MOTOR TENDER Both performed well under engine. Though neither reached the speeds achieved by the Seal or the Seahopper they felt like reliable tenders. ALSO The increased vee in the Orca gave her a touch Slightly more length makes ON THE DINGHY GO her a better tender with a greater more directional stability than the Nomad. MARKET load-carrying capacity You could happily motor across an anchorage ORCA or up a river on either boat. The Orca’s increased length will certainly make her a touch MINICAT 420 £3,250 drier in more wavy conditions and with extra SPECIFICATIONS The bigger sister of the MiniCat Guppy, the 420 LENGTH: 3.25m space for luggage and passengers she comes out on top. is a larger and more complex boat. As such she BEAM: 1.5m should sail better and comes with a furling TOTAL WEIGHT: 51kg Standing rigging helps ROWING headsail as well as a larger mainsail. She has BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: provide rigidity and 120cm x 41cm x 26cm performance Both Dinghy Go options rowed very well. As been designed to sail with one or two onboard. ASSEMBLY TIME: 21min relatively lightweight inflatables they obviously The manufacturers claim it is 52kg total weight £3,595 WEBSITE: www.dinghygo.com suffered from headwinds and crosswinds more across two bags. The 420 can also come with an than a traditional tender might. We thought the engine mount making her a more viable tender. Dinghy Go has become something of a in the side of the fibreglass seat. They There are a few details that need to oars might feel a little lightweight when in use, market leader in the inflatable sailing both have an in-built mast slot at the be done in a specific order. Like the Seal, but both they and the retaining clips were sturdy TRIBORD 5S tender field. The Nomad was its first bow and both have a mast foot, which the thwart needs to be installed at mid enough to get the job done without any fuss. boat to come to market, now on its third is added during the setup process. inflation, as does the mast foot. Though The Dinghy Go’s setup of aluminium boom and The Tribord 5S is a compact inflatable boat from French sports iteration with tweaks to the design over Although the Orca is bigger than the the thwart can theoretically be installed mast means it is not really possible to row with brand, Decathlon, that packs down into two bags. It is clearly the years. The Orca is a newer offering Nomad and can carry an extra person while the boat is deflated, the mast foot the rig still in the boat, so these need to be designed for the fun-sailing-for-kids end of the spectrum and from the company and is larger than the – optimistically quoted as five by the really needs doing at the mid-point. dropped before you start rowing in earnest. is not dissimilar to the Tiwal boats in that the hull is broadly Nomad with a more pronounced vee in manufacturer to the Nomad’s four – the It seems there is scope to fully inflate a large standup paddleboard. It has inflatible tubes to create the hull and a larger sail. They both additional size is all in her length with forgetting about this and therefore a YM VERDICT a semblance of a cockpit. The mast is stabilised through come with oars that attach to either side both featuring the same beam. It does need to deflate again to get her ready. As a tender to row and motor with an option standing rigging attached to the inflatible hull, so you tube via a robust plastic attachment and also carry a significantly larger sail – would expect limited stiffnesss in the rig, which may be to sail both models work well. There are some £2,100 2 2 which stow along the side tubes. 5.2m compared to 3.7m . All this means The centreboard is held by the frustrations in sailing both, but these are detrimental to sailing performance. The Dinghy Go products both felt that the Orca is sold as a sportier version thwart and exits through relatively minor issues that you will get used well thought-out and clearly have but we suspect most will be purchasing a soft gaiter, which to over time. However, their principal role is BANANA-BOOT benefitted from plenty of time in her for the increased space, either for can be rolled away as a tender, and they perform well in like a dry bag when development to create a product that people or luggage. Crucially, however, not in use this department. Popular in Germany and in a few other areas of Europe, attempts to be as versatile as possible. both boats require the same process Given the very minor difference in weight the Banana-boot is a folding boat, not dissimilar to the for setting up and both came in at (3kg) and size when packed (rig bags are the Seahopper in style. The hull is made from plastic and SETUP 21 minutes. Again there was a same size and the boat bag for the Orca is a it folds flat, though retains its 3.2m length. As with the The setup process for both boats is representative on site, so their 21-minute couple of cm larger in length, width and depth) Seahopper this would probably make storage below almost identical. The hulls are inflated setup time is an accurate reflection of beyond the price we would say there is little unlikely on all but the biggest cruisers but it would and there is a thwart that slides along time to set up on the second or third go, reason to go for the Nomad over the Orca. happily sit up on deck when folded with the oars and two rubber mounting points via a groove once you have learned the tricks. rigging stored below. €2,800

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