ECOSSE Lightweight Dinghies – Ruggedised

ECOSSE Lightweight Dinghies / Tenders are a new entrant to the popular lightweight dinghy market. How your dinghy handles off the water can be almost as important as how it handles on it, particularly when lifting and folding on board the deck of a yacht for example.

Easy to roll up and compact to store – as you’d expect – the ECOSSE lightweight dinghies have also been designed considering the realities of “daily dinghy duty”. They are thus similar in many ways to the offerings from 3D Tender and 02Lite, but with several important changes including:

– HEAVY DUTY ALL-ROUND FENDERING & KEEL STRIP. This does make them slightly heavier than the main rivals, but every extra ounce is repaid by the reassuring added durability when you’re moored against a quay, or landing on a rocky shore.

– FULL DIAMETER STERN TUBES. Others have “cones” at the back, which do increase efficiency on the plane. But in this market most people now use small electric outboards (not capable of planing speeds)… and in that situation full tubes are actually more efficient and more stable (both under way and when boarding).

– WELL-EQUIPPED. All Ecosse lightweight dinghies include davit lifting points, bridle towing eyes, oars, stowage bag & pump, all as standard.

– THREE YEAR WARRANTY. Most only offer two years.

We think they’re a really good all-round compromise between weight and durability, taking the middle ground in the yacht tender (and general messing about in boats!) market.

If you are used to a floppy-bottom or slatted floor inflatable, changing to one with a a high pressure inflatable floor – which comes standard with all ECOSSE lightweight inflatables – will be a massive improvement. It’s reassuring to stand on and step down into “something more solid”.

And that high-pressure hull, with a defined underwater shape – not dependent on where people sit etc – also makes them better to row.

However the biggest difference of all will come under power, when you’ll find electric motors and small petrol engines achieve higher speeds/greater efficiency. With larger engines you’ll be able to push along at higher speeds even when conditions are a bit choppy… the ECOSSE lightweight dinghies also have a slight V at the bow, to aid this.

Whilst it’s perfectly possible to use an Ecosse tender with a petrol outboard, most of our customers in this market now choose electric motors, for their quietness, ease of use and ease of handling (plus zero pollution at point of use).

The ePropulsion eLite – at just 7kg – should do about 4 knots for an hour (obviously dependent on loading, tide, wind etc). Transom height is about 37cm, so either an eLite S at full depth or an L (which is not all that Long!) at its shortest will work.

If you need more than that the ePropulsion Spirit PLUS offers double the power – useful if operating your tender in non-idyllic conditions – and just over three times the battery capacity. So you could reasonable say 10-12 nautical mile range at 4 knots, more if you slow down (and less if you speed up!). XS shaft best, but S shaft fine if you already have one!

DETAILS

ECOSSE lightweight dinghies come ready to go, and include all the following items as standard:
– lightweight hull with three chambers for the tube and integral high pressure floor
– fendering around entire hull, at widest point of tube
– substantial, full length, keel wear strip
– davit lifting points x4
– towing bridle eyes
– lifting handles at bow and stern
– drain in transom
– adjustable position seats (one with 250 & 270 models, two with 290)
– pair of two-part oars, rowlocks fitted to hull
– stirrup pump with pressure gauge
– repair kit
– storage bag with generous dimensions (in case you don’t fold it perfectly!)

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES

ELECTRIC PUMP. The Ecosse lightweight dinghies are supplied with a manual, stirrup-type pump but you may wish to consider an electric one. The model we recommend has an integral battery, rechargeable on 12V or USB, and will inflate a mid-size (270) Ecosse in about 7 minutes, at least twice per charge.

OUTBOARD MOTORS. Electric outboard motors have come to dominance in the small dinghy market over the last few years… we offer and stock various package deals with the market-leading ePropulsion eLite and Spirit PLUS electric outboards. Many others also available on request

If petrol is still your preference we recommend and supply TOHATSU. If you haven’t heard of them they are actually the world’s largest manufacturer (in units sold), when you include all the Mercury, Mariner and Nissan-branded outboards they make (identical other than labelling)! And they still make everything in Japan, to very high standards with a seven year warranty.

Nestaway Boats & ECOSSE

We decided to stock ECOSSE ruggedised lightweight inflatable dinghies because we genuinely believe they fill an important niche. It’s said that all boats are a collection of compromises, and in the inflatable dinghy market perhaps the most difficult of these compromises is the balance between weight and durability. We feel that the ECOSSE dinghies, with their lightweight fabric and added fendering/keelguard, are a very nicely-judged implementation.

The fact that Ecosse dinghies also include many other practical features – such as davit lifting points and towing bridle eyes – as standard (where others charge more or require you to fit aftermarket accessories yourself), makes an Ecosse dinghy a great choice for many of our customers.

We know the Ecosse lighweight inflatable dinghy team well, and are working closely with them on the development of future models… which has borne fruit in the form of the new WB (wider bow) models shown above.