<Scott wrote:....Do you limit yourself to distances traveled from the ship? I hear stories of people taking the tenders 20 miles or more from the boat.> We have a tender a bit bigger, 15' with a 60 hp, than most. In our current run from Venezuela to the Virgin Islands and almost back, ~1300 miles to date, it has way more miles on it than Swan Song does. We do a lot of exploring, around island trips and "taxi" work with it as it has the size and range to do so comfortably. If fact some folks when they see us ask where we came from as there are any anchorages within miles!!! With the extended range of 125-150 miles and the size our only worry is if the motor quits for some reason and can't be fixed by McGuyver. We almost never beach it but have two anchors so we can put the bow pointed offshore and the stern close in. We never do this if there's a break or bad weather forecast.....no sense in tempting fate. Many beaches and shore lines here are steep to which would mean dragging it a ways up vs. just away from the water. They also may be rock and/or coral so can be dangerous to the tenders health not to mention your own. We never leave the key in the tender, always lift the motor and plan on getting wet leaving and reentering. We use street smarts as there's absolutely nothing on land worth seeing if the tender is missing or not usable when you return. Ruins a good day and makes for a very big hole in your wallet....$15K+. The worst part is that getting a replacement can be a major problem in many locations. Where the swell is running in many areas getting ashore just may have to wait. OTOH, in several areas where you need to clear in/out you have little choice but to "get ashore". Often times I have had to put the bow to a piling and let Nancy off quickly to do the paperwork. No way to land a small boat in a swell! Arriving at Customs or Immigrations wet is usually frowned upon ;-) A good depth finder/plotter/GPS, a VHF with DSC and a radar reflector gives us some feeling of confidence that if we do run into an unsolvable issue we can try to get assistance from another vessel in a 40-50 mile radius and we are never that remote! We see so many folks trying to cruise, passagemaking is just going a long distance between cruising areas IMHO, with dinghies that are inadequate for the task. Our experience over the years made having a big tender high on our priority list. We have never once looked back and said wow its too big or questioned this call. We tow it everywhere with the longest tow so far of ~500 miles in seas up to 12'. It is always right there to use as a tug or to assist other folks plus if we needed it as an interim life raft. If we had to abandon Swan Song we'd use the tender first and carry the liferaft in it if we needed it. Liferafts are truly a last resort.....never ever get into one from something bigger unless you have to step up or swim into it. So it's truly an SUV that you want and one that is rugged to take the abuse and go the distance. Lift and/or lock it at all times to the boat or to a dock with a big chain not a cable as most every dinghy thief had cable cutters today but fewer have hydraulic bolt cutters though they are becoming more prevalent. In Porlamar, Isla Margarita the "banditos" have a 1/2 capacity hydraulic cutter so even our 3/8" SS chain is useless if they want our tender. An electric fence charger is the only thing that trumps this device :-) Security is an issue today more than ever and getting worse wherever you go. Seldom do we here "it's a lot better here now" vs. the opposite. Swan Song is always locked up with "Rex" on duty. He guards the boat and keeps the curious folks away with his barking. Though "Rex" is electronic other live dogs and humans respect his bark and the sensor keeps him quiet unless someone approaches. Plus he eats cheap and never wants to go to the beach, a very good investment for any one, IMHO. As always YMMV..... Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58 Caribbean Cruise '07