$165K for a 13' Tender???

I just saw a Carbon Craft on the back of a Lazzara in Camden this afternoon. It was striking enough that I turned my Nautica around to look , and it did have a lot of well thought out details. The owner told me it was $ 100,000, which seemed expensive, but it looked interesting enough not to dismiss. In fact, I texted Carl a photo.
Best,
Maldwin

Thanks for allowing me to live vicariously through your travels this summer Maldwin. You've been courting some lovely ladies of maritime's past. It was a shame to include that absurdely overpriced Carbon joke among histories greatest wood. I originally saw it at MIBS this year and was so put off by the price, I shook my head in disgust and walked away during the salesman's pitch. For a company to have the audacity to attempt gouging consumers on this scale, I can only wish them a slow, financially painful death. It also had some glaring design deficiencies. To anyone intrigued by this, don't be! You're not missing anything.

Nanotubes are expensive.

Let's see......a 13' Dinghy or a 27' Center Console with twin engines for the same price.....hmmmmmmmmm.......I think I'd choose a 27' Center Console.......Absurd....

I'm asking two questions just out of curiosity.

First, what would be your impression of Carbon Craft if the price was the same as say Williams Tenders. Beyond the insanity of their price (and I know it's difficult to look beyond), what are the design and other issues you saw?

Second, has anyone here actually ridden in one?

Now, the only reviews I've seen haven't been nearly as positive as reviews generally are. One review said steering felt loose as if it could use more ballast, but then went on to talk about taking time to master her wheel. Now to me when an experienced boater who does trials and tests all the time says they would need time to adjust to the steering and handling, that doesn't speak well for a tender. If I got in any boat and felt that way about it, I'd lose interest. I've driven several boats in the past year that were much different than any I'd ever driven, but they felt comfortable from the first moment. I've driven a Williams and an Avon jet tender and was surprised how comfortable both felt. I think 40+ mph on an 11 foot rib tender is crazy and would be just as happy if max speed was half that (which Williams actually allows you to set it to limit to half throttle). Still I felt surprisingly comfortable handling them both, just see a danger in someone deciding to try to fast in conditions they shouldn't.

I thought paying more for a 10-13' jet tender than a 20' jet boat costs was shocking enough but the first time I saw the Carbon Craft price, I thought it was insane. I'm sure they think that it's irrelevant since their customer can easily afford it. However, just because you can afford something doesn't mean you're fool enough to pay two or three times what it should cost.

I just took out a Rendova inflatable with a 40hp Yamaha. I had it up to 32 knots......I also recently rigged a new 11' whaler tender with a 40hp Mercury, it also did 32 knots.......Both were VERY SCARY...The Rendova more so than the whaler......at 32 knots it started sponson walking and jumping back and forth from one sponson to the other and well.....was a very interesting experience........Drive them 20-25 knots and they were fine.........I think any 11' boat doing 32 knots would be a handful to drive, just like a 38' Cigarette doing 110 knots would be......

BTW, I think if you had 3 people (more weight) in any of these 11' dinghy's, driving them wouldn't be as difficult or scary.

I have one time driven a boat 90 mph, one that was designed for it, and while it was fun on a quiet day with a calm lake and no other boats, I quickly figured out that I didn't fit with the potential customer makeup. Of course, the guy who owned it typically got no more than two weekends between trips for repairs. Between engine tuning and hull damage caused by the normal trash, twigs, limbs, cans, and whatever else on a lake. Now, in calm and quiet, I was amazed at the handling, but it took very little wake crossing to realize how quickly it would walk.

Now, the jet tenders give me much the same feel. Perfectly calm water and no other boats around, 34-35 knots handles well, but wouldn't do it in other conditions. You are also quite right that the control feels much more sure with three people. Of course, you're also going slower. Maximum speed drops substantially with load. To me the concept of speed just has no connection to what I use a tender for.

While I can't say for sure as I haven't been in the Rendova or an 11' Whaler, I think in that size the jet tender may not walk quite as much as the outboard, simply because of weight balance. Just like adding even one person forward helps the jet, I'm sure it helps the outboard a great deal too.

I agree, both of these tenders were powered as such only so they have the power get on plane with 4 people in them or for towing some sort of toy. Top speed was not a concern.

If blondie comes with, it does make sense!

Also keeping the "gear" at running temp

Jokes & blonde apart, the picture could be easily posted in the "Ugly" thread.

Heck, the blonde will cost you a heck of a lot more over her life than the way overpriced dinghy....LOLOLOLOL

My wife just saw this and wants me to raise a formal objection to the comments. She states:

"The right blonde will bring you far more pleasure than you can imagine and be worth every dollar she costs."

Now, I obviously agree with her comment.

Definitely she is.

If she wanted one, we'd get it. We're about half way to having the boats we want but our tenders have cost significantly less so far.