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MORE CONTROVERSIAL THAN RELIGION, POLITICS & C...
Jack Burgess
10/4/2025 8:05 PM

Here it is. Not anchors, not twins versus singles, not galley up versus galley down, not white versus all those other ugly hull colors, but, wait for it - Aluminum versus fiberglass tenders.


I have a Walker Bay Generation 13’3” fiberglass tender ( dinghies are 12’ and under) with a 50hp Tohatsu four stroke on Shangri-La that will likely sell with the boat. The tender has worked well for us. Looking for a new tender for the new boat arriving next spring on west coast and visited the East Marine Boats display (and others - Highfield, Zodiac, West marine, etc.) at the Annapolis Power Boat Show today and was VERY impressed with their line. Nice family business out of South Florida.Their Godiac 390 and 420 appear to be awesome boats 13 and 14 feet long. Very well equipped with lots of items included as standard features the other vendors upcharge for. And they are so light compared with my Walker Bay Generation tender which has treated us well. Would be much easier to handle with the crane I bet. But are the aluminum hulled tenders equal or maybe better? They are lighter, faster, can use a smaller engine due to their lighter weight, but do they carry with them hidden weaknesses?


Let the talks begin.



Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Ryan Gist
10/4/2025 8:10 PM
I love my aluminum hull for the single reason that I can beach it with zero worries.  


Jack Burgess
10/4/2025 8:31 PM

I have a keel guard that I carefully applied with some double secret extra sticky adhesive nine years ago that has protected my FRP hull from damage (so there), but the lighter weight of the aluminum impresses me immensely?


What else ya’ got? Tell me about welds, hull integrity, corrosion problems, durability, etc. Convince me MAN!


Jack


Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Doug Owens
10/4/2025 9:24 PM
Jack, we have had 8 dingy's/tenders over the years. From all fiberglass 10' to 15' with a center console.  3 different inflatables with aluminum hulls from 12' to 14'. Engines from 8hp to 60hp. 
  The best tender so far by a long shot is the Fish Whistle I got 2 years ago. It's 12' 7" long and a beam of 6' 8".  All aluminum. The whole outside of the hull is about 10" wide and foam filled. It has more interior room than the 15' center console. Under the driver's seat that lifts up you can put hundreds of pounds of fish. The side decks are flat with rails you mount down riggers, pot puller and other things as well. We have a Bimini top that stays on folded back all the time, a 60hp Suzuki and a built in 15 gallon fuel tank in the front and all the electronics. It only weighs 1050# with gas. 
  We use our tender for fishing a lot. We caught several halibut this year from the tender, 114#, 134#, 165#, 200# to name a few. In this tender it's stable and roomy with up to 4 people doing this. Try that in a 12' inflatable.
 We have a 53 Selene with a Steelhead 1500# davit. It's a tight fit and we had to take some of the rails off the back of the boat deck, but it's well worth it. The price of the tender with the 60hp was about $34,000. That's in the same price range of a flashy white inflatable, but literally twice the boat and will never leak. That's important when you're gaffing and harpooning big fish. 
  Our good friends just got their new to them Selene 60 Classic. We helped them last weekend get their 15' bullfrog tender (aluminium hull and plastic upper.) very nice, big tender. Weight about 1,300#. We had to take the back rails off the boat deck as well. They wouldn't have it any other way either.
 Fish Whistle is making a 14 foot model as well if you want bigger.  
 If I knew how to post pictures, I would.
 Doug Owens 
Real Adventure 
53-83


Jack Burgess
10/4/2025 9:42 PM

Doug -


All I can say is that is a REAL post! Meat and potatoes. All good information. Making me think and that is a good thing. Especially after two week of boat shows and the East Coast Selene Owners Rendezvous. I should probably go into seclusion in a dialysis center for a while just to make sure I am all here and competent to make a decision.


Thank you so much - Jack



Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Doug Owens
10/4/2025 9:52 PM
How do I post pictures? I would like to put a couple of our tender (53 and me) on the site. Of course my posts will be lots of meat and potatoes. I own a meat business. 
Doug
Reel Adventure 

Jack Burgess
10/5/2025 4:30 AM

When you want to attach a photo, hit the “reply” icon at the bottom left of the screen. In the reply field you will see a small “paperclip” icon bottom left. Click on that to attach photos or files which you will select from your resources.


Jack


Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Jack Burgess
10/5/2025 4:40 AM

And I just love the “53 and me” name of your tender and your “meat and potatoes” and “I’m in the meat business” comment. Feel like I am the straight guy in your comedy routine handing up the slow pitches.


Jack



Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Dan Moore
10/5/2025 5:20 AM

I'm in the process of relifing my tender. I'm going to get new tubes and go through all the do dads to get them working. I looked at getting a new tender but all of them (inflatable) have small fuel tanks now. The Nautica tender that came with Blue Phoenix has a much larger fuel tank than normal, I think it was 25 gallons, so I'm just going to stick with it. With that said, I am curious about aluminum. How do you deal with getting on and off the boat routinely and not bumping hulls and scratching the big boats paint? Fenders? Are you basically rafting boats together all the time? Or is there some sort of soft side rub rail on an aluminum tender?



Dan and Bethany Moore

Blue Phoenix - 2008 Selene 59

Doug Owens
10/5/2025 11:17 AM

Hi Dan, when we're ready to launch the aluminum tender we put two big round fenders off the side of it. They keep lots of soft space between the boats. We also keep two smaller fenders off the two staples on the swim step. While at anchor even overnight we keep 53 and me side tied to the swim step. The tender never bumps the mother ship at all, ever.

Getting in and out could almost be done with a walker, if needed. I'll see if I can attach some pictures now that Jack told me how.

Oh geez, did I accidentally put the pic of my wife's halibut?

Doug

Reel Adventure

Doug Owens
10/5/2025 11:23 AM

Here's one more picture.

Jack Burgess
10/5/2025 12:23 PM
Yes, I saw (and gawked at) your little halibut.  Guess you fed the masses with that monster. Good job!

Jack

Richard Nye
10/5/2025 5:22 PM

That Fish Whistle looks like a battlewagon. I would love to have an aluminum tender, but at 700 lbs it's no lightweight. Nice barn door too! Here's another picture.


Richard

Doug Owens
10/5/2025 5:43 PM
Nice yellowfin, I caught a 60# and it fought like a 200# halibut. That 85# could ware you out. 
Doug

Dan Moore
10/6/2025 5:11 AM

Holy cow! In my head I knew halibut were big but yikes!


Ok so there is something else to be done with fenders but the trade off is you have a real boat instead of a little runabout. Makes sense. Thank you.



Dan and Bethany Moore

Blue Phoenix - 2008 Selene 59

Chris P
10/5/2025 7:51 PM

Doug,

Thanks for the info and pix. Given our boat will be here in February I am deep into the tender choice. Yours was not on the list but will take a look for sure. That said the website is pretty limited on info. The durability and stability seem to be a real strength . How does the boat track and get up on plane? Also, any pictures/video of getting it on/off the deck? Trying to fully understand the process and the use of the fenders as you mention of getting the boat onto the water without whacking your Selene. We will have the same davit you have.

Thanks and wow those fish are something!

Chris P

Selene 6050 - Full Circle

Doug Owens
10/5/2025 9:31 PM
Hi Chris, congrats on getting a new 60. That's exciting. 
We put the two big round fenders on the tender before dropping in the water and before picking it back up. With those on the side as we lower the tender they prevent it from hitting the Selene. There was a time we would put fenders off the big boat but the tender always had to be where the fenders were located for protection. With the fenders on the tender, the big boat is always protected. We do the same when getting it ready to lift back up. It's real slick. Once in the water we keep it tied to the Swim step with fenders hanging from the staples for protection. I would not want to be chipping up the Selene.
  The tender is light (for such a substantial boat) but built like a humvy. This summer in Alaska we were asked 50 times about it. 
  It gets up on plane quite quickly even loaded with 4 adults. I've gotten on plane with 6 people. When we got it we bumped it from a 40hp to 60hp for an extra grand and glad we did. 
   When we anchor out in bays it's worth it to us to have a real boat as a tender that we can put lots of people and gear in and have 15 gallons of fuel and feel comfortable taking long excursion's exploring or fishing. We fished with it a lot on the outside of Baranof in the Gulf with 5 people and still had room for fish, lots of fish under the seat. 
 I've had lots of inflatables, but when it gets breezy and the chop builds to waves the front end gets real light, not real comfortable. This tender is rock solid.
Doug
 

Chris P
10/6/2025 8:35 AM

Thanks Doug for the details. This is helpful. I will certainly explore these and you approach to getting her up on and off the deck makes sense. We are very excited about our boat. We are taking deliver in Seattle so hopefully we will see you at the Rendezvous in April! Which our new boat and our new tender! Appreciate the information. Travel safely.


Chris P

Selene 6050 - Full Circle

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