Our Full Dinghy Setup & Must Haves
Whether you're shopping for your own tender setup or just curious about what works for us, this guide covers our complete setup from the core vessel to essential safety gear, here's everything we use and why it matters.
The Tender
At the heart of our setup is the 330 OC Tender with full carbon construction. This lightweight yet durable tender provides an excellent balance of performance and practicality. The full carbon build ensures minimal weight while maintaining structural integrity, making it easier to handle both in and out of the water.
While inflatables are fantastic and have their place, this side by side comparison is what tipped us into the rigid tender camp.
Nikki Wynn
330 OC Tender Specifications
- Overall Length: 3.3 meters (10.82 feet)
- Overall Width: 1.6 meters (5.24 feet)
Hull Weight
- Standard: 48 kg (105 lbs)
- Full Carbon: 39 kg (86 lbs)
Maximum Load Capacity
- 373 kg (822 lbs)
More On OC Tenders Here: octenders.co.nz/
Electric Jet Propulsion
We've opted for the Zero Jet electric propulsion system and if you watch this video, you'll see why:
Nikki Wynn
Electric propulsion offers several advantages:
- Silent operation, sort of (when you're flying at 20 knots, there's going to be wind and water noise)
- No more searching out fuel on remote islands or worrying about storing it
- No more worrying about bad fuel or filtering gunk out of it
- Minimal maintenance requirements
- Instant torque for responsive handling
Nikki Wynn
Electric jet propulsion offers a few more advantages:
Ok, it's mostly one advantage, NO PROP. Which makes it safer for all species in the water be it human or otherwise. We have a shallower draft so we can glide over shallow areas. No more worries about fishing wire or plastic bags getting wrapped up on the prop (although floating debris can still be a nuisance). And, it meant we could fit a larger tender on our davits because we didn't have to account for the space an outboard takes up.
More On Zero Jet Here: www.zerojet.com/
Docking & Anchoring Equipment
Dinghy docks are a rare sight in most of the remote islands. Which means we're either anchoring out and swimming to shore or we're tying up to whatever structure, commercial dock or tree we can find. So to protect our investment we utilize:
- Two Classic Mermaid Fenders. They make me smile every time I see them and they provide excellent protection from whatever bumps up against their bosom.
- 15 foot dedicated stern line for when we need both ends need to be secured.
- 2x Mantus Marine dinghy anchor - Yes two, one bow and one stern. Because sometimes we need to anchor with the bow pointing into the waves (nothing worse than coming back to the little boat after its crashed onto the shore from breaking waves that built up from a storm...ask me how I know). Plus these tiny anchors come with a nice carrying bag and nylon rode.
- 10 feet of 1/4 inch stainless steel chain
- Additional 1/4 inch stainless steel shackle for rope rode attachment (also from mantus marine).
Safety Equipment
- Floating VHF ours has GPS coordinates on the display, an emergency light and the battery lasts a long time. Also great to have on in a busy anchorage instead of leaving the big boat VHF on.
- Mantus Marine Navigation Light for the transom, ensuring visibility during evening hours and night time explorations.
- Manual Bilge pump
- Compact Emergency Medical Kit - Deciding what goes in a medical kit varies from person to person. For me, I think of the worst case scenario and try to plan for that. So trauma bandages, a Tourniquet , and hydration packs are all basics for us. I like the adventure medical kits because they are good solid kits and supplies. There are sooo many starter kits to chose from based on your activities and needs. Even if you build your own, you can use these kits as guides.
Dry Bucket/Seat/Cooler/
The KULA cooler is a very cool tool. It can be used as a cooler, seat, bait well, equipment storage, or just about anything that you can do with a five-gallon bucket. Lightweight, easy to carry, rugged, well insulated and a bunch more stuff.
