Wooden boat plans for Tenders

A tender is a small boat often used to ferry goods and people in areas that are too shallow or unsuitable for the larger keel boats. Often a tender is used to bring people to their moored boats. Most keel-boats will have a tender since the keel prevents them from going too close to land. Some tenders are carried on board, others towed and still many others stay on the mooring and are only used to ferry sailors to and from land.

The tender often doubles as a fishing boat, small sailboat to play around or a kids swimming platform.

There are a great deal of argument about what is the best tender.

There is no perfect tender and a great deal comes down to personal preference and conditions. You have to balance factors such as: appearance, suitability to conditions, stability, size, storage on board the mother-ship, multipurpose/sailing, propulsion method motor/oar/sail and of course cost.

I have a couple of pages about tenders: How to choose a tender and Comparison of different types of tenders.

Many boat building beginners dream of building a large boat and sailing off into the sunset. The usual advice is build the tender first and then build your big boat.

Email me if a link is broken. I try to update everything often but the internet is a fast paced place, (and I'm not so quick).

A couple of Free Prams Plans

I have a couple of free plans, from old books. The plans can easily be adapted to stitch and glue boat building method.

A pram makes a good tender. They be rowed or fitted small motors. This is a free plan.
take apart jon boat

Break Apart Jon Boat Free plan pdf format. Back section is pram, front section is removable fishing-storage cooler.

Free plan to Apple Pie pram tender I built this tender and found it a competent little boat. My build here
10 ft Garvey from Bateau.com They have several other plans that would be suitable tenders.
Hartley Boat Plans has several small boat plans.
Clark Craft. Has a lovely rowing/sailing dinghy.
Hannu's Boatyard has several free plans for one sheet and larger boats. Minimalism boating! Check out the Halfpea, 4ft boat.
One Sheet Skiff free plans by McLeod.
Mouse Boats on Yahoo groups. Lots of fun in a tiny boat. Atkin's popular design. Some of the larger variations would make a suitable tender.
Atkin free boat plan page.
Italian 10 ft boats class website Many different free 10' models. 10 feet is how long plywood comes in Italy. Some would work as tenders.
Dudley Dix Yacht Design has boat plans for canoes, dinghies, monohulls and multihull sailboats plus power boats.
Applegate Boatworks wooden boat plans has pirogues, pram
Boat Plans and Kits from Chesapeake Light Craft (home of my Skerry design) Beautiful well thought out plans and kits. Several would make great tenders.
Fyne Boat Kits, CLC UK boat plans and kits, nice tenders.
Chesapeake Marine Design has plans including a new electric boat section.
Common Sense Boats has plans and kits. Many Phil Bolgers designs pdf format. Good assortment.
Guillemot Kayaks, plans and kits, also Custom build. Has a nice Coot Dinghy plan.
Simplicity Boats has plans and projects. some free.
Newfound Woodworks has cedar strip kits for a lovely Tender, the Lawton.
Barrow Boat Company has kits and partially built boats. Allows you to move the boat as a wheelbarrow.
Noahs marine has plans and kits plus lots of boatbuilding supplies including cedar strips.
Shell Boats has plans for small boats.
Plans for Selway Fisher Design.
Benford Design Group has boat plans of many styles of construction.
Bedard Yacht Design for tenders.
Wooden Widget has amazing folding boat, ultralight skin on frame row boats tender and more fun designs.
Wooden Boat Plans and Designs from Arch Davis Designs has short sailboats, skiffs and more.
Plans and boats by Francois Vivier, naval architect. Some lovely boats here.
B&B Yacht Design has plans for kayaks, tenders and cruisers, and many more styles.
Stanley Small Craft Low Cost Boats, Kits and DIY. Some stitch and glue plans.
GlenL boats has designs for many tenders and small boats.
Portable Boat Plans, Small, fold-able and easily transportable boat plans
Free paddle Plans Plans for a canoe paddle from an old book in my family
Classic Marine Many tenders including Iain Oughtred boats.
Wooden Boat Store has plans for many boats and also has hardware.
Jim Michalak's Boat designs. His book: Boatbuilding for Beginners (and Beyond): Everything You Need to Know to Build a Sailboat, a Rowboat, a Motorboat, a Canoe, and More!
Svenson's has old Mechanix Illustrated free plans Lots of boat styles
Free Paddle and Oar Plans Michael Storer's plans.
Gig Harbor Boat Works offers finished custom boats, nice to look at.
Duckworks is a great source for inexpensive wooden boat plans. Here is their tender plans.
Free Micro Folding Dinghy. A plywood and canvas folding boat.
Radoslaw Werszko several designs from pram to 5 Metre day boat.
Several suitable boat plans from Butler Projects
Free Sectional Boat Plans from an Old Book, Amateur Works Magazine Volume 5
National Museum of American History boat plans from the Smithsonian.
Sectional Skiff free plans From an article in Popular Mechanics by Carl Clark
Ultralight Boat Plans Skin on frame construction plans and videos from Dreamcatcher Boats.
Rowing Boats from Wooden Boat Magazine Plans. Many other kinds of boat plans.
Several styles for back yard boatbuilding from Smallboats.com plans, kits and some free plans.
Jordan Boats carry plans and designs from several designers including Iain Oughtred kits.
Chuck Payne Yacht Design From a 5 foot tender to Motor launches and sailing yachts. They have kayaks and rowing skiffs as well.
Free Pram Plan I found this in an old plywood projects book I had. It dates from the 1950's. Seems like a nice little tender.
Bateau Bois is a French wooden boat site with lots and lots of information and plans. Well worth wandering through.
Absolutely Free Boat Plans Links to various plans. Some have already been mentioned but others are less common.
Geodesic Aerolite Ultra-light boats, skin and frame designs. Weight of full sized finished boats range from 8 lbs to about 40 lbs.
Respected designer of power and sail boats Sam Devlin offers plans + kits. his book: Devlin's Boatbuilding: How to Build Any Boat the Stitch-and-Glue Way
Boat Plans from Morten Olesen. He offers 3D computer models, courses and Plans.
Boat plan Directory from Wooden Boat Magazine. Many different types of boats plus kits. A goldmine of plans.
Create your own stitch and glue patterns with this software Washington Woodcraft.com
World famous Atkins boat plans. Dozens of proven boat plans from the tiniest dinghy to large motor boats. Well worth spending time here.
Duckworks boat building plans Many designers. Fabulous boat building resource. Plans but also articles and information on boatbuilding. Supplies and hardware.
Spira International has boat plans, Lots of designs.
Thomas J. Hill Boat Designs has many plans, some for ultra light boats built using lapstrake design. Author of 'Ultra Light Boatbuilding'
Herreshoff Coquina Plans from D.N. Hylan
Bill Thomas woodworking boats, plans and kits.
John Welsford has several lovely and competent boats
Mike Waller Yacht Design Free tender plan

Although canoes and kayaks and other small boats are light and can often be built and stored in small areas particularly if they are take-apart designs, they don't make ideal tenders since it is difficult to stand up in them and standing up is often necessary in order to climb into a higher keel boat. Us more mature folks often have crotchety knees that complain when asked to bend into small spaces. We don't listen but they still complainn. Kayaks and Canoes are simply not stable enough to deal with a wiggly kid or dog trying to jump out.

Small Print

This information is for general knowledge. I try to find links to good plans but I have not checked them personally. If you build any of these plans do your homework and make sure it is suitable for your purpose and you know how to use the tools safely.

I try to be accurate and check my information, but mistakes happen. ALSO keep in mind that not all free boat plans are good designs. Some are but others are worth exactly what you paid for them. Also keep in mind while I'm in a preachy mood, that a good set of plans will save you lots of time and if you've paid for them you can usually contact the designer and get help.

email me if you find mistakes, I'll fix them and we'll all benefit: Christine