There was a time when it was common for a superyacht tender to be considered a runabout workboat with little to no consideration for style and luxury. For trips to and from the anchored mothership, guests were often required to tough it out on a cramped boat with few seats and little protection from the elements of nature, or else feel claustrophobic on a vessel that was enclosed but clunky, unattractive and not designed for this purpose.
Luckily, in recent years there’s been a significant shift in the tender trends and it’s now possible to enjoy luxury travel on the water before you have even reached the mothership. Whether it’s expansive seating arrangements, super-fast capabilities in comfort or painstaking craftsmanship and styling to match that of the mothership, there is an option available.
Larger superyachts are now kitted out with expansive garages that can store multiple tenders tailored to specific situations, like diving, jet-skiing or trips ashore. The true expression of elegance and taste when it comes to tenders is a custom-built limousine tender, which matches the mothership in both styling and attention to detail.
A number of companies are making a name for themselves in the custom tender business. One of the most insider-respected (and most discrete) of these is Hodgdon Yachts. Having taken home the gong for the superyacht tender category at this year’s ShowBoats Design Awards for its Fledgling vessel, an 8.6m limousine tender for Feadship’s M/Y Sea Owl, Hodgdon Yachts is firmly placed on the map for its luxury tenders. And for good reason.
“A tender is the guests’ first impression of the superyacht experience they are about to have, and it should complement that experience from start to finish,” Ed Roberts, a director at Hodgdon Yachts, says in summary of the importance of luxury tenders today. “Historically, tenders were seen as functional at best. Now, sophisticated owners are seeing them, appropriately, as an extension of the superyacht experience.”
The Maine-based company is the oldest boat builder in America. Established in 1816, it is now in its fifth generation of family ownership. That heritage isn’t keeping Hodgdon Yachts from making waves in cutting-edge composite material construction, however. It is a specialist in the construction of custom tenders, superyacht interiors up to 80m and sail and motor yachts up to 60m - including a number of impressive high-tech, low profile builds that remain totally off the radar for privacy reasons. Acknowledging the popularity of its work across the Atlantic, the company opened an office in Monaco this year.
With projects to complement motherships built by Feadship, Oceanco and Lürssen, it is important that tenders seamlessly integrate into the package. “We manage this in two ways,” Roberts continues. “First, some tenders are designed completely by an outside designer, typically the one that worked on the mothership. They define the style of the tender, often to emulate the look and feel, interior and exterior of the mothership. Second, in some cases the mothership designer may not have the interest or expertise to deal with anything but the styling, in which case we can adapt one of our designs from the deck up to match their styling of the mothership.”
This is no small feat. With beautiful joinery specially completed to mirror the craftsmen’s work at Feadship, Hodgdon collaborated on Fledgling with Andrew Winch, the world-renowned superyacht designer who created Sea Owl. It features luxury leather seating for up to 8 guests and two crew, not to mention the on-board facilities of lavatory and wash-basin.
But it’s the technological and engineering advances that really make this tender stand out. Whereas some limousine tenders can feel cramped and dark, Fledgling has an electrically-retracting glass moon roof and glass aft wall to bring the outside to the guest experience inside and the roof can be lifted hydraulically to provide uninterrupted panoramic views – perfect for watching regattas or on-water events while staying in the shade. There is an open stern deck for easy boarding, leading directly down into the cabin. Roberts says these features allow guests to enjoy an immersive experience with the surroundings. “The technology today that allows reliable, robust mechanisms for disappearing windows, roof panels and wall panels is allowing designers and builders much more freedom to make inside space outside space, at the will of the guest.”
On the interior, fully integrated iPad entertainment and monitoring systems allow guests to follow their course while controlling their journey’s soundtrack and AC or heating controls keep things comfortable, whatever the temperature outside.
Fledgling’s lines and aesthetic may be classic but it’s nothing less than high-tech below the surface. Typically, limousine tenders have been incredibly heavy, which can cause difficulty in launching into and retrieving them from the water – not to mention the impact this can have on speed. In the case of the Fledgling model, there were very demanding weight restrictions from the mothership. Using cutting-edge technology, Hodgdon Yachts tailor-made the tender’s hull with infused epoxy carbon fibre, which brought the weight down significantly. The impressive top speed for the vessel is just shy of 40 knots, making it a singularly elegant chase boat for on-water events.
According to Roberts, future design developments for many tenders will be directly linked to the comfort of embarking and disembarking. For elderly or less mobile guests – or those in high heels – the thought of boarding a tender in anything but the calmest of seas has historically been less than enticing. “We have a number of innovative lifting arrangements in development so that even an elegant lady in a pair of Stuart Weitzman stilettos will feel comfortable getting on and off the tender,” Roberts remarks.
After seeing the Fledgling project, considering the scope and sophistication available on these beautiful watercraft, there could be ample opportunities for these tenders to fly from the nest of yachting. Roberts highlights waterfront homes, private islands and luxury resorts as the perfect candidates for custom limousine tenders, whether in Venice, the Caribbean or Qatar – for the upcoming World Cup, Fledglings could provide easy access to the events for the most important of guests, for example. It’s safe to say that limousine tenders have come a long way over the years and with Hodgdon’s ongoing development of technology and craftsmanship, it seems the limits to luxury will soon soar higher than ever.
