...in his beautiful nesting Spindrift, a larger version of my own nester...

However, I'm pretty sure he's since seen the light, and has made the switch to an inflatable... (grin)

Again, I love rowing as much as the next guy, but I'll bet my Avon Lite rows as well as that Pudgy... And, it certainly tows more effortlessly - Unless you are hauling that thing back on deck all the time, dragging a tender like that around all the time will definitely result in less sailing in marginal/light air situations, at least for most people...

What sort of 34-footer do those folks sail, Tom? I'd love to see a pic of that Pudgy stowed on their foredeck - again, I just can't imagine having to deal with trying to sight over/around something that bulky or high profile on deck, but perhaps that's just me...

Another big drawback for a tender like that for the Bahamas, or anyplace else one might spend a lot of time swimming/snorkeling/diving from a tender... One of the real beauties of inflatables, is the ease of re-boarding from the water, getting back aboard one of those Pudgys could present a real challenge without some sort of ladder...

As always, different strokes... I still often use my Spindrift for sailing locally on the protected waters of the bay, overnight/weekend trips where it will stay in the water all the time... It tows effortlessly, and is a wonderful little boat... But, for extended cruising and venturing offshore, some sort of inflatable is definitely the best all-around solution for me, and the size boat I sail...