A recent addition to luxury yacht tenders is the small personal hovercraft, such as the Hov Pod, or the amphibious boat, such as Iguana Yachts boats which can also drive onto beaches or up ramps, to carry passengers on land.
Luxury yacht tenders like other types of ship's tender, whilst often used to transport supplies and personnel, are also used for the entertainment and pleasure of the yacht's passengers. Accordingly, the tenders will be employed as pleasure craft or speed boats to drag bananas and for waterskiing, wakeboarding and also to transport and service leisure scuba set diving.
In recent years there has been increased development in the luxury yacht tender market. There is now greater importance given to whether a yacht includes a large tender which boasts all the latest features. Private yachts are being built with stern garages which house the tender and also other associated 'water toys'. Powerful davits are installed on the yacht’s decks to mechanically lift increasingly heavier tenders.
The increasing trend towards large custom tenders such as limousines, landing craft and chase boats is supported by classic boatbuilders such as Hacker-Craft and lesser known companies such as Argos Nautic and Miller Yachts. Long established custom builders such as Hodgdon Yachts and Vikal International, have carved a niche for themselves over past decades, building one-off, custom, high-end limousine tenders and specialized multi purpose tenders.
Because there is now a large and established tender industry, yacht tenders are also increasingly being used more widely by those who do not own or use yachts, but wish to enjoy their tender as an entertainment in its own right.
