Beneath the Surface

Let’s Talk Tenders

Carrying a tender is now a viable option for smaller cruising boats, and there’s more than one way to get there.

The FreedomLift is a remote-controlled, hydraulic tender lift that does not take up valuable space on the swim platform.

Boating season is upon us in the Great Lakes, and that means we are busy making plans — to cruise, to harbor-hop, or perhaps simply to visit favorite eateries, riverwalks and outdoor performances by boat. It also means that many of us might be considering the addition of a tender to our boating lifestyles.

Hang on, you might be thinking, I don’t have a luxury motoryacht or a big cruising sailboat, so the tender question is off the table. The thing is, it’s not.

Carrying a tender is a viable option for boats down to 27 feet. It all depends on the boat, the engine and how you plan to use the whole package.

The dinghy davit solution If you have a 30- to 75-foot boat with either inboard or sterndrive power and an unobstructed swim platform, dinghy davits are a straightforward, user-friendly, affordable solution. Escanaba, Michigan-based Hurley Marine, one of the country’s top manufacturers of marine accessories, started producing davits in 2003. Today, its sales are almost evenly split between its U.S. dealer network and distributors in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia.

Captain Todd Hurley is Hurley Marine’s founder and owner. A lifelong boater, he has experience as a U.S. Merchant Marine captain, business owner and entrepreneur. The Hurley Marine Davit was his concept, and when it debuted, it reinvented on-deck dinghy storage.

“By making it easy, we take all the pain out of it,” Hurley says. “It used to be a lot of work to deploy and retrieve a tender.”

Not anymore. Hurley Marine produces both classic davit systems and winch-based turnable mounts. An online worksheet will help you determine which is the right choice for your boat.

“When you’re making your decisions, start with the davit first and then choose a tender,” Hurley advises. “Our davit worksheet will paint that picture. It’s phone- and tablet-friendly, so you can take it to your boat and gather measurements and photos. Then we will respond with the best option for you, and we can provide guidance on the tender as well.”

Hurley Marine davit systems are simple to install. You can work with your boatyard to complete the project, and then the summer season awaits.

According to Hurley, some customers are eager to add a tender for long-distance cruises to places like Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Others are eager to do some gunkholing in hotspots like Wisconsin’s Door County.

“You have to think about where you plan to use your boat and how you want to use it,” he notes. “We love going to Fish Creek’s Shanty Bay [in Door County’s Peninsula State Park] on a gorgeous day. Who doesn’t want to be on the water?”

Many boaters also seek to make their stays in preferred ports of call more hassle-free. With a tender, you can leave your boat on the mooring or in the marina, and then zip away to do a little grocery shopping or see the sights. It’s all about flexibility and versatility.

“Even experienced boaters tell us they’re amazed at how easy having a tender makes their boating lives,” Hurley says.

A new level of freedom Until the early 2000s, boaters who wished to incorporate an automated system for dinghy launch and retrieval had limited options. They could add a crane davit to the bow or roof, which is an ordeal even for two people to manage, or they could incorporate a hydraulic platform lift, which takes up the entire swim platform.

Then FreedomLift came along in 2001.

Co-founded by Gregory Vogel and Robert Zwiers, this company manufactures a remote-controlled hydraulic system with removable lift arms that allows one-person operation.

“We’re alone in our segment with this independent arm system,” Vogel says. “It’s unique because it carries the tender up and behind the platform. You still have full use of your swim platform, yet the tender is still available at the touch of a button with the wireless remote. It’s literally that easy. We think it’s the easiest way to carry a tender, because nothing is manual. You can decide to go for a dinghy ride and be on the water in a minute.”

FreedomLift can be added to 35- to 70-foot boats with either inboard power or pod drives, due to available transom space. The boats also must have an appropriate transom/swim platform configuration.

Nearly three years ago, in an effort to expand the company’s offerings, Vogel and Zwiers decided to purchase competitor SeaLift. Its hydraulic swim platform solutions are also easy to use, allow boaters to quickly deploy their tenders and can be added to boats 40 to 120 feet in length.

“It’s a bit more expensive to build, and your tender will take up the platform,” Vogel acknowledges. “The bonus is, when the tender is off, you can use the platform for swimming. We do a lot of these in the South, where people are in the water all the time.”

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sea Ray was a trendsetter, pioneering the use of hydraulic swim platforms for the recreational boating market. It was, Vogel says, a hot option. FreedomLift evolved naturally when a segment of the marketplace desired to preserve the use of the swim platform.

“We counsel our customers on both product lines to determine which might provide the best solution for them,” he says. “There’s a place for both. It really depends on the lifestyle of the user.”

Like Hurley, Vogel says he routinely hears from boaters that the addition of a tender solution has changed their boating lives. In particular, they recognize a new level of freedom.

“If you’re anchoring out, you want a tender to get around,” he observes, “but it’s so much more than that. Boaters in urban areas like Chicago, for example, say they don’t want to take the big boat out. Instead, they want to get on the water easily and do a quick cruise or go out to eat.”

Older boaters remark on the stability of the tender and the use of the swim platform as a boarding location, both of which make getting in and out safer. They also say they enjoy using their tender to have fun on and in the water with kids and grandkids.

If you’re preparing to buy a boat and think a FreedomLift or SeaLift system might be right for you, Vogel says to check with the company first.

“FreedomLift and SeaLift can’t go on every boat,” Vogel says. “We aren’t able to do sterndrives or boats with certain transom configurations. We’re working on developing a system for outboardpowered boats, but we’re not there yet.”

The first innovation for outboards You’re not entirely out of luck, however, if you’re in the market for a new boat and are keen to embrace outboard power. Fluid Motion, parent company of Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats, recently developed a patent-pending Outboard Dinghy Lift for the Ranger 27 and Cutwater 32.

Made from powder-coated anodized aluminum and fitted with Weaver Snap Davit heads, the Outboard Dinghy Lift allows boaters to attach and board their tender while in the marina or at anchor. The hinged system is integrated into the swim platform with a handrail, and it’s operated by a cockpit-mounted winch.

“This is a huge innovation,” says Brent Reed, owner of Reed Yacht Sales. This Ranger Tug dealer has locations in Grand Haven and LaSalle, Michigan, and Racine, Wisconsin. Manitowoc Marina handles Cutwater Boats, with locations in Manitowoc and Marinette, Wisconsin.

Reed says his dealership is in the process of delivering the first Outboard Dinghy Lift- equipped Ranger 27 to a customer right now.

“The Ranger 27 was a diesel inboard-powered boat until 2018, and then it went to outboard,” he notes. “There was no solution for a dinghy right away, but they solved that problem. That’s important, because outboards have just taken off. It’s the future.”

For more information about these tender

solutions, visit FREEDOMLIFT.COM, SEALIFTUSA. COM, HURLEYMARINE.COM, RANGERTUGS.COM and CUTWATERBOATS.COM. ★

(Top) The Ranger Tugs 27 and Cutwater 32 are now offered with a patentpending Outboard Dinghy Lift that allows boaters to carry a dinghy on an outboard-powered boat — an industry-fi rst. (Middle) SeaLift offers custom hydraulic swim platform solutions for boats 40 to 120 feet in length. (Bottom) The Hurley Marine H3O+ system allow users to store and launch their dinghy easily, and at an affordable price-point.

HEATHER STEINBERGER is an award-winning writer/editor who has specialized in boating, travel and outdoor adventure for more than 20 years.