An open guest tender is a tender without a fixed cabin or hardtop. It prioritises deck space, accessibility, and short-hop guest handling over weather protection. The category is the everyday answer for transfers in fair weather: short rides between yacht and shore, beach trips, water-toy support runs, and the after-dinner cruise back to the yacht in light wind and warm air.
Why open is the volume choice
Three reasons:
- Deck space. Without the structural intrusion of a hardtop or cabin, the same hull length carries more open seating and more usable deck for boarding.
- Visual presence at the swim platform. Guests step off the yacht straight into a low, open boat without ducking under a structure or stepping into an enclosed space; the experience reads as continuous with the yacht's deck.
- Cost and complexity. Open tenders are simpler to build, lighter, and easier to maintain than the cabin variants of the same hull. They typically come in 15 to 30 percent below the limousine version of the same platform.
Where the category trades off
The trade-offs are predictable:
- Weather protection. None. Owners running early or late season programmes, or in regions with fast-changing weather, often pair an open tender with a covered alternative.
- Spray. A bow-mounted hardtop helps; without one, even calm-seas spray from the chine catches forward seating in 15 to 20 knots of breeze.
- Range. Open seating limits how long guests want to stay aboard; comfortable use windows are typically 1 to 3 hours per outing.
Sizes that match the brief
Open guest tenders run from 6m to 14m:
- 6m to 8m. Single-engine or twin-outboard. Compact, garage-friendly. Williams Sportjet, Pascoe Open, smaller Castoldi.
- 9m to 12m. The volume sweet spot. Twin-outboard or sterndrive. 8 to 12 guests. Pascoe Open, Castoldi Jet 320, Wajer 38, Vanquish VQ40.
- 13m+. Larger open chase-tender hybrids. Wally Tender 43, Vanquish VQ43, Anvera 42 Speedster.
Builders that come up most
In the open guest segment we shortlist most often:
- Pascoe International. Open versions of their DT and Open ranges; superb finish, premium price.
- Castoldi. Italian jet-driven open platforms; the JT-range is the volume player on Mediterranean yacht programmes.
- Wajer. Dutch-built premium open day boats; extensive owner customisation.
- Vanquish. Aluminium open day boats with a cleaner industrial aesthetic; popular on Northern European and US programmes.
Where it sits against alternatives
A limousine tender covers the brief when weather, formality, or arrival presence matters. An open tender covers the daily-use brief that limousines do not handle well. Most yacht programmes above 50m carry both.
For pure water-toy support, a RIB is usually a better fit than an open guest tender; the collar handles the rough handling, and the RIB carries less of an "arrival presence" brief.