Our goal - Safe, Fast, Stable, Fun, Beautiful and Long-lasting.   After an exhaustive search, we couldn't find a boat on the market with what we believe is the right combination of essential features. 

(Our new manufacturing facility in Beautiful Florala, Alabama.

50 miles from the Gulf Coast and home of the largest natural lake in Alabama)

        So we built one - The Bluewater Baby.  When we designed and built this tender, we were building our own Bluewater Baby.  Now you too can benefit from our efforts to produce the finest yacht tender.

        The Watercats design team has more than thirty years of near daily experience using a variety of tenders, ranging from an inflatable to a sailing dinghy to a converted aluminum fishing boat, and everything in between.   

        Using this experience and knowledge, we started with a blank sheet of paper for the design.  We added a master mold maker and a master boatbuilder to the mix and created what we believe is the Ultimate Yacht Tender - the Bluewater Baby.  In the following paragraphs, we will attempt to define our philosophy regarding a proper yacht tender.

BUILDING MATERIALS

        Safety - First, we looked at the materials used in modern boatbuilding - fiberglass, epoxy coated wood, aluminum, the pressurized fabric of inflatables, and molded plastic. 

        Next we compared each to the requirements of a tender, 1) strength, 2) puncture resistance, 3) light weight, 4) pleasing appearance, 5) resistance to the elements, 6) ease and success of repair, and 7) maintenance requirements.

   5 - best ,  1 - worst 

FIBERGLASS WINS BY LANDSLIDE!

The Results. 

        Appearance & Maintenance -  A beautiful tender is very important to most boaters, but beauty which requires extensive maintenance is unsuitable.  Your tender is often subjected to its own specific type of abuse - from rocky beaches, concrete docks, and other tenders.   Unless tender maintenance is your hobby, you must have a low maintenance boat in order to have a good appearance.

        Varnished wood is probably the most beautiful of boatbuilding materials, but it takes a dedicated person and a lot of hard work to maintain wood.   Some would say an unpainted aluminum tender is ruggedly beautiful, but it takes a lot of expensive painting and maintenance to get a "yacht finish" aluminum tender.  And from experience, we know that paint on an aluminum boat is an iffy proposition.

     Fiberglass can be molded into pleasing shapes and colors, and requires almost no maintenance because of the thick layer of gelcoat. 

        Strength  - Although aluminum rated high in strength, it lost heavily in the ease of repair section because it requires a very knowledgeable welder with expensive equipment.  Inflatables also did not fare well in the repair field simply because a glued-on patch can never be that secure in our minds.   Wood repairs are available almost everywhere which is a good thing since wood has the unfortunate tendency to rot away if not maintained.  Fiberglass requires only some easily obtainable cloth and resin.   The repair job is easy, quick, and secure.   

       The Bluewater Baby is made from hand laid up bi-directional E glass fiberglass.  This allows the technicians to orient the strands of fiberglass in the direction of the greatest anticipated loads.  In deck areas there is vacuum bagged, glassed-in polypropylene honeycomb- just like in high end custom yachts.  In the transom we use Penske or Cousa board.  They are very strong high density foam boards laced with fiberglass fibers.  Absolutely no wood is used in the Bluewater Baby.   The result - light weight and very strong and no rotting - ever!

THE HOW AND WHY OF THE DESIGN

A.  SAFETY

         Exploring in the dinghy from your yacht or simply going out for a day's fishing, you count on your boat to return you safely.  It is unthinkable to explore in a boat that will puncture and sink.    Unfortunately, inflatables are prone to puncture from rocks, reefs, spear gun tips, barnacles, etc.    Incredibly, inflatables are somehow exempted from Coast Guard regulations designed to protect you, the boater, and we know of none that contain floatation foam.  Puncture just one of the tubes in an inflatable, and you will be in the water!

    Any single skinned tender upon puncture will fill with water.   Because of Coast Guard mandatory flotation, they probably will not sink, but they certainly won't motor home.

        With its separate and sealed deck & added foam flotation, the Bluewter Baby or Barefooter will transport you safely back even if the hull were somehow holed.   

B.  THE HULL

        There are two distinct divisions in small boats - those designed to motor and those that are designed to row.  (Almost all inflatables are nearly impossible to row and must be motored.)

        The motoring styled hull generally has a flat run aft which encourages planning.  That is, the forward part of the hull lifts clear of the water at a certain speed, thereby reducing friction.   In other words, it's Fast!   Fortunately the motoring styled hull if designed properly can still turn in a respectable speed when rowed.  The Bluewater Baby/Barefooter has reached speed of over 5 mph when rowed.

        The sailing or rowing hull has a much more rounded shape. Typically it may employ a 5 H.P. engine or less, achieving speeds of 5 or 6 knots, and will not go any faster no matter how much horsepower is applied.   The optimum shape for rowing is not the optimum shape for  motoring.  Yet, the faster the tender, the more your cruising horizons are expanded.

         A yacht's tender is required to transport its passengers with safety and comfort and keep them dry when they want to be dry.  This requires a high degree of stability from a hull form that will shoulder aside waves.  Because of the restrictions on the hull form, no sailing or rowing influenced hull has the stability or dryness of a motorboat styled hull. 

        The Bluewater Baby hull  is a "modified" tri-hull design.  It is extremely stable yet has enough vee in the hull to split the waves and provide a dry ride.   And, it is very fast;  speeds in the 20's have been clocked with the standard 15 H.P. engine.   With the 25 Hp Tohatsu, a Bluewater Baby has been clocked at over 30 mph.

        Our hull also has a full keel.  This serves two purposes.  When towed, the Bluewater Baby will track much straighter.  Too, every yacht tender will be called on to transport its occupants to a beach, and often may be pulled onto the beach or end up resting on the beach after the tide goes out.  The keel on our boat is sacrificial and solid glass so that it can take the brunt of the abuse and even if worn away will not allow the hull to be breached. 

C.  Convenience

        It's been a long hard trip, but you finally made it and are now anchored in some exotic port of call.    Time to go ashore.   All passengers are aboard and it's off to the dinghy dock.  Upon approaching, you notice that the dock is completely crowded with other tenders and there is no way you can lie alongside - you are forced to nose into the dock and exit your tender from the bow.  By this measure alone the Bluewater Baby deck  with its wide foredeck provides virtually the safest entrance and exit of any tender on the market.  As a matter of fact, stepping into the bow of most tenders is a quick invitation for a swim. 

         The Bluewater Baby's unique molded-in nonskid on foredeck and side decks provides safe footing and reduces maintenance by not holding water and dirt.  The side decks are wide and uncluttered - wide enough to step on but narrow enough to step over easily. 

        Our walk- around Center Console provides a host of benefits.  It allows those in the rear seat to move easily forward without stepping over seats or people, and it also provides lockable storage which houses the starting battery.  

    The forward console seat provides a comfortable seat for the second occupant which keeps weight centered for greater cornering capabilities.   Unlike those in inflatables, passengers in the Bluewater Baby ride dry and protected - well away from the sides of the boat

D. QUALITY

        The hardware installed on the Bluewater Baby is the best available.  No exception and no excuses! We use a  custom waterproof aluminum switch panel for the running lights and automatic bilge pump made by Paneltronics® -  just like your yacht.   We provide two 6" stainless steel cleats and four dedicated stainless steel lift points that are each rated to carry a load of more than sixty times the weight of the Bluewater Baby.  There are more than 9 stainless cleats and rings on the Bluewater Baby to allow secure tying in a variety of situations.  All are necessary and non are superfluous.

    Three stainless steel towing rings allow a bridle to be attached to ensure straight tracking when towed. The stainless steel wheel is strong, light weight and adds a touch of elegance.

        Nor do we scrimp on the accessories.  The finest marine grade vinyl, Sunbrella® acrylan, and EZ Dri foam® are found in our hand crafted cushions, bimini top, and full mooring cover.  The custom trailers are galvanized and come with 12" wheels, step on fenders, winch and jack. 

    In short - we have spared no expense to make the Bluewater Baby & Barefooter the finest boats available.

Specifications and prices subject to change without notice.