OC Tender Owners - would you buy again?

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

We have had several OC tenders in our rally fleets. In general, owners were pleased. One issue was the hull mounted eyes for Davit lifting were poorly fixed to the hull and placement permitted the lifting lines to chafe into the seat sides.

OC Tenders must have addressed the chaffing issue, on mine, they added a section of vinyl tubing at that point where it rubs against the seat, (red arrow in picture)

[elaak]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Interesting. I'm curious what the issues were. Just looking at the 2 of them, particularly in terms of hull shape, the AST strikes me as a somewhat better design than the OCT. I'd certainly expect it to ride better.

I don’t recall all the details but the most salient thing was egg shell laminate which constantly cracked. I believe multiple owners had their AST “rebuilt” ie added significant laminate and it still wasn’t quite right.

Disclaimer:
- 2nd hand information

Ride wise, these types of dinghies aren’t MILSPEC RIBs designed to land troops on oil rigs in chaotic seas at 20kts. They are basically the same construction as high performance sailing dinghies.

If one wants that experience there are quite a lot of heavy v bottom RIBs out there which will provide that experience. Best bet IMO would be full alloy v bottom tender with a rub strip.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by elaak

I don’t recall all the details but the most salient thing was egg shell laminate which constantly cracked. I believe multiple owners had their AST “rebuilt” ie added significant laminate and it still wasn’t quite right.

Disclaimer:
- 2nd hand information

Ride wise, these types of dinghies aren’t MILSPEC RIBs designed to land troops on oil rigs in chaotic seas at 20kts. They are basically the same construction as high performance sailing dinghies.

If one wants that experience there are quite a lot of heavy v bottom RIBs out there which will provide that experience. Best bet IMO would be full alloy v bottom tender with a rub strip.

This response is a red herring. The OC tender has a flat bottom. No rib or inflatable with a keel has this type of hull shape. Yes it is light but so is a surfboard (and equally as flat).

At least the AST has a hull shape.

For you to propose that the choice is either a flat bottomed row boat or a mil spec landing craft, it's stupid. Get real and justify your $11,000 preference

[elaak]

Originally Posted by wingssail

This response is a red herring. The OC tender has a flat bottom. No rib or inflatable with a keel has this type of hull shape. Yes it is light but so is a surfboard (and equally as flat).

At least the AST has a hull shape.

For you to propose that the choice is either a flat bottomed row boat or a mil spec landing craft, it's stupid. Get real and justify your $11,000 preference

Feeling triggered?

There’s a whole philosophy behind the Octender and the shape/use of it. Hyperbole is useful in describing the boundary conditions of choices. My statement is meant to point out that the AST may sit between philosophies.

That doesn’t mean it’s automatically a bad product - but if users aren’t happy with it that’s a strong signal that something is amiss.

[Tin Tin]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

I would think the load capacity would be similar per length, although the main advantage to the OCT is that you can store things under the side deck and they stay dry in the netting that they include. The ability to do this is huge as it gets stuff out from under your feet. If you are using the dink for SCUBA, I would opt for the largest you can fit/afford. I haven't used mine for this yet but others may chime in ...........
By the way, you can install a telescoping swim ladder on these too.

So I looked it up:


Highfield UL 340 - Max Load 663Kg (1462 lb) at 11.1ft

OC 350 - Max Load 448Kg (988 lb) at 11.52ft



That is a 215Kg (474lb) difference, seems significant to me, or am I missing something.


https://www.highfieldboats.com/ultralite-340/
https://octenders.co.nz/wp-content/u...C350-specs.pdf

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

So I looked it up:


Highfield UL 340 - Max Load 663Kg (1462 lb) at 11.1ft

OC 350 - Max Load 448Kg (988 lb) at 11.52ft



That is a 215Kg (474lb) difference, seems significant to me, or am I missing something.


https://www.highfieldboats.com/ultralite-340/
https://octenders.co.nz/wp-content/u...C350-specs.pdf

It is a significant difference, but both have enough load capacity to be adequate for most people I think. I'd expect it to be challenging to get more than 1000 lbs of people and stuff into the Highfield (especially with the space consumed by the tubes). 1000 lbs gets you fuel, outboard, 4 decent size adults and some groceries. To get to the full 1462 lbs, you'd have to add at least a 5th person, the dog and some more stuff.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

So I looked it up:


Highfield UL 340 - Max Load 663Kg (1462 lb) at 11.1ft

OC 350 - Max Load 448Kg (988 lb) at 11.52ft



That is a 215Kg (474lb) difference, seems significant to me, or am I missing something.


https://www.highfieldboats.com/ultralite-340/
https://octenders.co.nz/wp-content/u...C350-specs.pdf

That is a big difference for sure, I am surprised it's that much but as RSlifkn said, it's not likely that you would have that much weight in there anyway, but maybe if you have 4 people and luggage and provisions.
The other thought is that these are the safe working loads (both of them) not the ultimate loads where you would be in danger of taking on water, which reminds me of one of the YouTube tests where the filled the OCT with water to show that it won't sink. If a RIB had punctured tubes and filled, would it sink or float? I don't know if it has positive floatation in that scenario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq31Xm-OHnc

[Tin Tin]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

That is a big difference for sure, I am surprised it's that much but as RSlifkn said, it's not likely that you would have that much weight in there anyway, but maybe if you have 4 people and luggage and provisions.
The other thought is that these are the safe working loads (both of them) not the ultimate loads where you would be in danger of taking on water, which reminds me of one of the YouTube tests where the filled the OCT with water to show that it won't sink. If a RIB had punctured tubes and filled, would it sink or float? I don't know if it has positive floatation in that scenario.

They should have done the test with it fully loaded per spec, engine, 4 people anchor and gear.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Tin Tin,
Yes, it would be interesting to see and maybe the people at OC Tenders will read this and do a test to see, possible.

Keep in mind that the bumper that wraps around the OCT is a closed cell semi-rigid foam about 2 inches thick which provides the bulk of the floatation but also the foam core construction of the hull will also add to the positive floatation, this plus the 2 seat blocks are 14 inch cubes of Styrofoam and these are tightly shoved under the deck adding even more floatation, so in conclusion, I would say that even with 4 people and engine, it would still float. But I still agree that such a test would be good too, maybe I'll test mine this summer and report (with a crap engine )

[thesauvage]

Hi, I found this company from Florida. 'UP Boats'
their website is:

https://www.ultralight-performance-boats.com

Their pricing is better than from OC Tenders and for US customers there is no overseas shipping.
Plus they're offering many options I miss from OC like: Console w remote steering, double floor, etc.

There is a YouTube video from their website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSy9fShWyLA

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by thesauvage

Hi, I found this company from Florida. 'UP Boats'
their website is:

https://www.ultralight-performance-boats.com

Their pricing is better than from OC Tenders and for US customers there is no overseas shipping.
Plus they're offering many options I miss from OC like: Console w remote steering, double floor, etc.

There is a YouTube video from their website:

$15k plus options is not exactly cheaper than a landed OC Tender. Too bad.

[thesauvage]

Well, the full carbon fiber from OC the OC350 is $18,730 USD landed in Florida. (without any options) Plus, at OC I was quoted a build spot in December/Jan 2024 with estimated arrival in Florida in March/April 2024. So that's a 10 month lead time...

UP Boats UP340 is $15,000 USD I've requested how long their lead time is, but I doubt it'll be that long.

[mvweebles]

The OCT 330 was $12k landed on West Coast when I started this thread 1 year ago. Sounds like location is a big deal. Guessing the Miami version would be expensive to get to LA, SF, SEA, etc. I'd guess the OCT has a stronger resale due to name recognition, at least for the time being.

I ended up getting an AB 10 AL. Nice RIB. I no longer have a dog in this fight.

[TDB1227]

I ordered my OCT in December 2018 and got it in PORT VILA VANUATU in August 2019. As mentioned earlier I had 5 (including this OCT) 5 dinghies in 1 year and the OCT is absolutely the best. Have been since February 2023 in OPUA NZ, very close to PAIHIA where the OCT is built. Went to see Karine & Russell. They currently have close to 10 months lead-time; Russell and I were talking about my dinghy and he gave, without me asking absolutely free of charge, some upgrades as well as replaced the 4 1/2 year old navigation lights which had a problem. From the moment I ordered to now meeting almost 5 years later a pleasure dealing with these people and their staff.
Dinghy is also superb - highly recommended.

[meury110]

Originally Posted by elaak

Late reply but pretty relevant.

I bought one of their first 100 hulls and had it shipped to SF. Sailed all over with it including Alaska, Mexico, across the pacific and now New Zealand. I've done some serious damage to it over the years but it is all repairable with basic composite repair techniques. I'd be fully replacing an inflatable if I had one.

I loved it so much that I've got a new sailing carbon one on order and am replacing my non-sailing one.

I have indeed bought again

You plan to sell the current one. I'm in Washington State