Thread: Smartwave Dinghys

Anyone had experience with these? Look ok but haven't seen one in the flesh or had one on the water. Looking at the wee 2400 as an option for a tender so I can leave boat on anchor and take dinghy to shore instead of having to find a sandy spot to run boat up onto beach everytime.
Was kind of looking at inflatables but saw a few of these advertised. The only thing that possibly puts me off is the weight as the dinghy would be stored on the roof of boat, they're advertised at 60kg which in ideal circumstances I'm sure I could move around easy enough but not sure about getting it out of the water and up onto the roof again! Are they as stable as they claim they are? Climbing in and out whilst on the water means stability is a major must have. I have a little 3.5hp outboard which I'm sure would push it around ok as a tender?

be aware they have a very small payload rating..... but never heard anybody dish them.....you could use a sit on kayak...you have that landing zone at back the ducks love...wont be hard to get in/out on that.
you can use two of them together with simple frame and they then extremely stable. one for you and an out rigger sort of thing.

The smartwave 3500 are bloody good and would be my pick. Yes a bit bigger but stable as

My old boss had one....would plane just with a 5hp two-stroke.
Pretty stabil for the size, heavy compared to a tinny tho.

plenty of 10 ft tinnies around,no need to poke it on roof,tow it around.

They don't tow very well, skate about !!
We had a little one behind a yacht last year up the able tazzy.

It bloody zig zagged and played havoc with the trolling lures !!

Quite a flat profile so ended up with a bit of water in It too

They are however - very stable

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How many people do you want to put in it. Had one for 2 weeks (years ago) and sold it as couldn't comfortably put 2 people in it with (netting) gear. So you, the Mrs and the dog could be fun.

I have one got it years ago as dads balance went as he aged and he damn near drowned himself getting into the old ply pram dinngy out on mooring. Very stable and tough spends a lot of time tied to jetty in sounds in all weather n slop on to rocky beach drag it up n down rocks no probs two people and JR no probs rowing back in. Tip dont let water get inside they become incredibly heavy u need pliers to undo bung. I can drag/lift mine up onto jetty still but they are not light. On reflection a True Kit inflatable would be a better option for wat you want to do $2500 for navigator catamaran vs $2100 for 2400 smatrwave - website good seen them at boat show seem well made - they come up on TMe second hand too.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

One of my kids was looking at buying a rib for diving but got talked out of it by my boat mechanic. He reckons inflatables have a short lifespan compared to plastics like Mac and Smartwave.
And you don't have to be careful about puncturing plastics.

That's completely correct - we must have had ours for 15 + years and its still going strong. But re reading the question above and having had to drag/lift mine up onto the jetty deck to put it away I am damn sure I would not want to try to get it "out of the water and onto the roof again" even with someone's help. Apart from being bloody hard to lift up you will knock your boat around a bit each time. Cheers AMac

don't you already have a takakat ? seems that would make a pretty sweet tender or did you sell that ?

Originally Posted by dannyb

don't you already have a takakat ? seems that would make a pretty sweet tender or did you sell that ?

Nah I had a zodiac, was a 3.8 though so nearly half the length of our boat, too big really as a tender. Sold now anyhow

I had a 4200 (the second one out of the mould) back in 2003-4. 50hp merc (was rated for 30, but the motors weighed the same, so i went with more hp....not knowing at the time that is wasn't just about weight....)
Fun boat in flat water for 2 people. Hopeless for anything serious - slopping floors, wet as, - Never again.


Ive got a mate with one as a tender now (maybe early version 2400 - might be a different number, but its about that size, and certainly a smartwave).
He filled the middle with closed cell urethane foam, so now its like titanic - unsinkable!,
Heavy for size and he uses a davit to lift it up to his roof.
Stable as, easy to get into from main boat.
No need to worry about running it up on sand or rocks. The plastic is strong as, and flexes a bit instead of tearing.
If you get a few nicks in it, you can gently hit it with a gas touch, and its back to looking new.
Great to leave on a mooring, as wont sink with rain etc...


I think if you were going to use a tender all the time, then yes a ridgid hull - either plastic or al.
However if your only going to use once in a while, i think id be going for a inflatable, that you just pump up on the day needed.

Ask that mate of yours with all the boats and stuff, he’s bound to know what you need…..


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Originally Posted by MSL

Ask that mate of yours with all the boats and stuff, he’s bound to know what you need…..


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just about pissed my pants

A soft inflatable seems like a smarter solution for a tender here. 60kg is a heavy boat to carry up high & to lift.