14 of the best new tenders, chase boats and limousines afloat

One of the most recent launches from the tender arm of America’s oldest boatbuilder is a gorgeous aft helm limo penned by Michael Peters. The award-winning design accommodates up to 15 guests in fore and aft outside seating with a wet bar and a climate-controlled interior with custom upholstery and detailing. The T-top lowers for stowing the tender on board, and the gyrostabilisation will be appreciated by anyone who’s ever had to step onto a rolly tender at a rough anchorage.

The Maine builder has also revealed a new design for a 12-metre Beachlander with two deck configurations: the elegant Sip for cocktails and entertaining; and the more rugged Sport for watersports or hauling gear to the beach. Both can accommodate either electric or diesel propulsion and have guest capacity of 14.

Cantiere delle Marche’s Flexplorer 146 has a big aft deck designed to carry tenders and toys, but with a 44.3-metre LOA, there’s a limit to how much can be hauled. So the Italian shipyard came up with an ingenious solution: a tender on deck that carries a smaller tender itself. Instead of stowing these side-by-side on the mothership, stacking them frees up valuable real estate. Called Iceman, the explorer tender is being designed by Valerio Rivellini, and follows his philosophy of combining structural strength and light weight, with an aluminium hull and a carbon-fibre superstructure.

With its modern form and clean lines, the first NY24 Limo model fits right in with the artful aesthetic of this Italian builder, which collaborates with design firm ideaeITALIA. The low profile and high-end finishes allow it to fit in any superyacht garage with ease, and the model itself is quite customisable. The owner of hull No 1, ordered for a 63-metre yacht that will cruise in Croatia, chose to install a bimini for shade underway without spoiling the lines, and synthetic teak for reduced maintenance and environmental impact.

January 2024 saw Falcon’s first deliveries to a client with a stunning pair of matching 10-metre tenders, one open sports tender and one closed limousine. The custom designs were developed exclusively for the (confidential) client. The hull, deck and mouldings are constructed with green epoxy composites, utilising foam sandwich construction, giving a stiff, lightweight structure, but it’s the high-gloss all-white finish with mirrored glass that makes the bigger impression.

Project KD will follow in March, delivered to a Sanlorenzo. Stay tuned for more from this high-end builder later in 2024 with a new concept in SOLAS tenders and a revolutionary design of a 10-metre explorer yacht tender.

This foiling tender is designed to fly, not swim. It takes off at 18 knots and soars 1.5 metres above the water. Based on Enata’s 10-metre Foiler platform, Vatoz is a new limited- edition series that will produce just eight boats. Designed in collaboration with Timur Bozca, its organic, aerodynamic shape was inspired by its namesake, the Turkish word for stingray. The side wings are designed to provide easy access to the bow while also keeping those in the cockpit dry and hiding storage space for water toys such as surfboards.

Bold in bright blue livery, Yachtwerft Meyer’s 8.1-metre open limo is as eye-catching in colour as it is in form. It’s a new addition to the semi-custom Silverline series, the builder’s most successful tender range, which offers a pre-engineered platform with a choice of deck layouts. The first owner chose a seating arrangement that maximises the number of passengers. When the weather doesn’t co-operate, a hidden custom bimini transforms it into a closed limousine.

The latest development from solar-powered catamaran builder Silent Yachts is a new series of tenders that are – you guessed it – silent, being fully electric. The range encompasses 400, 450 and 520 models between four and 5.2 metres with a carbon fibre prepreg hull and waterjet drive, able to be charged via the mothership Silent yacht or in port. The 40kW of power and lightweight construction allow a top speed over 20 knots. The first 400 is now in production.

Custom builder Cockwells has created some stunningly beautiful superyacht tenders. The latest, part of a quartet of custom tenders for the new 112-metre Renaissance, is this 13-metre limousine. It features a luxurious interior influenced by the design of the client’s private jet, while its semi-displacement hull, twin 8LV engines and gyro-stabiliser provide guests with the ultimate balance of speed and comfort.

Introduced at the last Cannes show, the baby of the wallypowers blends the features of Wally’s tender and power ranges. This is no accident; the concept is all about bridging the open wallytender48 and the wallypower58, and the result is a model that can be specced for anything from chase boat to dayboat. The sharp lines, deep-V hull and double chine profile are undoubtedly Wally, as the design comes from the brand’s forward-thinking founder, Luca Bassani, who says the model is “perhaps the purest and most essential in form yet to earn the ‘power’ epithet”. Both inboard and outboard propulsion is offered.

At the top end of Castoldi’s range of jet tenders is this new 8.6-metre model that accommodates 16. The multi-functional boat is well-tailored to its market, coming with all the fun stuff superyachts need: ski poles, hooks for towing inflatables, dive tank lockers and fishing rod holders. A bow ramp provides steps down to the beach, too. Castoldi tenders are designed to be stored in yacht garages, so all components that exceed the height of the bow can be folded (console, awnings, carbon-fibre T-top) or removed (cushions and backrests). Below the waterline is a deep-V hull built in tough Kevlar.

Take a hardy RIB and mix in military DNA and you’ve got a chase boat with serious superpowers. So serious, in fact, that the CZ12 was the first RIB to make it through the Northwest Passage. With Zodiac Milpro’s recent acquisition of superyacht specialists Yachtwerft Meyer, these adventure boats are now offered as superyacht tenders. The 60-plus-knot boat has a patented high-performance MACHII hull, which special forces use for intervention and rescue in extreme conditions, and comes with shock-mitigating seats.

High demand for the beachlander led Whitmarsh to design a new range of mid-size luxury superyacht tenders. The three models of 6.25, 7.25 and 8.25 metres have the same dimensions as some of the British builder’s existing tenders, but they boast a completely new hull design that carries more weight and improves performance with less power. The half-circle “D” tube design gives a lot of internal space and offers storage built into the cockpit sides. Engine options include diesel inboard jet drive, stern drive or outboard, and SOLAS versions are available for every model. The first two 725s are sold for a mid 2024 delivery.

This new catamaran has a neat trick below the waterline: foils. These aren’t to lift it out of the water America’s Cup-style though, but to help with longitudinal stability. A centre foil creates lift that reduces drag and improves fuel efficiency (by at least 30 per cent, claims the builder), while the aft foils provide downforce, working with the centre foil to reduce pitching. A folding carbon fibre bimini and low-profile hull allow it to be stowed on board. The first Linx30 is in service as a tender to 65-metre Lürssen Polar Star, and the second one is currently in build, commissioned by a client in the Middle East.

Recently delivered to a private mothership, Compass’s largest beachlander to date, at 11.5 metres, is a jack of all trades. The full-custom craft was designed to serve as luxurious guest conveyance, able to facilitate extended excursions on expedition cruises, as well as a utility boat. There’s a rack for dive tanks, two wet lockers and six fishing-rod sockets. The extra-large loading bay can take up to six euro pallets, which are easily loaded and unloaded via the hydraulic bow door. The full guest complement of 12 is accommodated on board, with passengers enjoying an aft seating/sunlounger arrangement with adaptable positioning, a 135-litre integrated cool box and a head with shower concealed in the console.