Chinook Arch

The tender is the most important piece of equipment to a cruiser. If the dinghy is lost or stolen your cruising must be delayed until a replacement can be found. Similarly if the dinghy outboard engine needs repair it must be dealt with immediately. Why is the dink so important to a cruiser? Most cruisers tend to spend very little time at a dock or marina. Over a 3 month period last year we spent only 2 nights at a marina. When we are not sailing we are usually at anchor (free) or very occasinaly on a mooring (cheaper than a marina slip but not usually free). In order to get to shore from the baot at anchor you need a dinghy. Often the best anchoring grounds may be a very long way (up to 2 miles) from the nearest populated area. If you need to reprovision, get to town to offload garbage or to do your laundry you need a working dinghy. In some areas you need to cross open water with significant currents to get to your destination. If your engine quits you may not be able to reach your destination since rowing an inflatable dinghy is difficult at the best of times and damn near impossible against a strong current for any period of time. And oh yes, how else are you going to get all the picnic gear to the beach?