Guy Mannering is a broker with Cecil Wright and has nearly two decades of experience as a charter Captain. With an in-depth knowledge of the logistical requirements of large yacht operation and ownership, Guy is well placed to offer his opinion on his all time favourite tenders and toys
BEST LOOKING TENDER – VANQUISH VQ55
It’s like Van Dutch and Wajer made a baby and what a beauty. Just stunning to drive and you can always guarantee an exquisite build quality from Northern Europe. They’re also fairly uncommon so a real head turner. I drove one a few years ago, but the newer VQ55 Sportline has a stepped hull to add lift and reduce friction. This in combination with five Mercury V12s, the speed can reach up to 70 knots. Also available with twin Nanni N16 1200 hp (V8) inboard diesels and waterjets, giving top speed of 50 knots. All too often the final detailing on larger tenders gets ignored, but I was thoroughly impressed. A miniature superyacht through and through.
BEST TENDER DRIVEN – FJORD 42 OPEN
I became familiar with this perfect and indestructible tender while working aboard the infamous Gene Machine. The Volvo Penta IPS pod-drive propulsion system with joystick control makes close quarter manoeuvring literally child’s play. The standard IPS500 delivers top speeds of 34 knots or you can upgrade to the IPS600 to deliver 40knots. There’s plenty of cabin space, easily fast enough, hydraulic swim platform, huge fuel tanks, creating a great surfing wave. This vessel is a thoroughbred powerboat, yet it offers the perfect place to relax and enjoy life on the open water. I could go on but I’d use up my word count.
MONEY NO OBJECT – RIVA AQUARAMA
Recently celebrating their 60th anniversary, many have tried and failed to produce such a timeless classic. Production of it and its derivatives (the Lungo, Super, and Special) ran from 1962 until 1996. The hull was based on the Riva Tritone, an earlier model speedboat by Riva, which in turn was inspired by the American mahogany Chris-Craft runabouts. The boat’s speed, beauty, and craftsmanship earned it praise as the Ferrari of the boat world. The Riva Aquarama’s hull was sheathed in mahogany and varnished to accentuate the beauty of its natural wood grain. All versions were twin engined, with top speeds of 45/50 knots depending on engine choice. Power varied from 185 hp to 400 hp per engine, delivered by Riva ‘tuned’ Cadillac and Chrysler models, among others. An obvious choice to appear on the silver screen, the Aquarama has made appearances driven by Xenia Onatopp in the Bond movie GoldenEye, and a Special is piloted by Vincent Cassel in the movie Ocean’s Twelve. Occasionally I’ll be inspecting an enormous yacht where the owner has space to simply hang one of these for display purposes only, perfectly maintained, never driven, varnished and polished to a mirror finish.. a thing of beauty.
BEST GENERAL PURPOSE TENDER – WILLIAMS DIESELJET 625
The humble Williams Jet Tender never receives enough credit in my opinion. However, there are obviously a few other advocates as in 2021 they launched their 10,000th tender. The colour scheme is totally customisable, they’re ideal for beach landings in the Bahamas, they’re an absolute pleasure to drive and perfect for watersports, with smooth, powerful acceleration and high-speed manoeuvring. Plus, the rubber sponsons allow you to leave the junior deckhand to refuel from the mothership without worrying about your paintwork. The range of vessels on offer is vast and growing so there is always a Williams that will fit nicely within your current line up.
BEST TOY – CUDAJET
The world’s first underwater jepack, need I say more? It was developed by British underwater enthusiast Archie O’Brien while he was in his final year at Loughborough Design School. Among other things, he wanted to create a system that was lighter and faster than existing products. The CudaJet is the final commercial version of what he envisioned. A hardwired handheld trigger-style remote is used to control the speed. The jetpack can be used down to a maximum depth of 40 metres and delivers 40 kg of thrust, reportedly taking the wearer to a top speed of 3 metres per second. Sadly, I have yet to personally test this device, but extremely excited to receive an invitation at the next yacht show, hint hint…
