When ordering a custom yacht, it’s important to have tender and toys as unique as the mothership. This month we look at several companies that are building custom or highly unique tenders as well as a French company with an innovative watertoy every family will want on board.

Four Custom Tenders For Hodgdon

Following on the heels of two custom tenders for Oceanco’s Y706, (M/Y Seven Seas), Hodgdon Yachts has signed two new contracts for four tenders. The first is for a 10.5-meter (34-foot, 6-inch) custom limo tender and a 10.5m custom open tender for another Oceanco client. The new-build design and construction specifications for these Michael Peters Yacht Designs creations were developed by AJ Anderson of Wright Maritime Group. The first will be shipped to The Netherlands in the fall of 2012, followed by the second one late in the year. The MPYD limo tender award-winning design features a private jet-grade interior, hydraulically operated lifting roof and a cruising speed for 12 guests of nearly 30 knots.

The second pair of tenders – a limo and an open – are custom designs from Andrew Winch Designs and Hodgdon for a project at a Northern European shipyard. At 8.5 meters (27 feet, 11 inches), the limo tender features a retractable full-coverage moon roof, a guest head and 30 knots cruising speed from its Volvo D-6/400 power. The open tender features a ramp to ease guests or toys onto the beach. Both boats are slated for an early 2013 delivery.

For more information, visit hodgdonyachts.com

Tasmanian Tender

Sydney-based C.Way Pty Ltd., announced it has begun construction on an 8m superyacht tender to a design by Tasmania-based Imaginocean Yacht Design.

“The objective was to create a practical boat that would serve as a comfortable tender, but also be suitable for a range of other activities,” said designer Will Allison.

The result is an 8 meter (26-foot, 3-inch) boat with seating for up to eight guests and crew. It has an aluminum hull and composites for much of the interior. Under construction in Hobart, it is due for launch by the middle of this year.

For more information, visit imaginocean.net

Silent Running

Personal watercraft are great fun to operate, but, like dirt bikes and snowmobiles, they often make noisy neighbors. Not the Gliss-Speed electric water kart. This little water toy does a sedate, but respectable 15 mph, but it reaches that speed in near silence.

According to the French manufacturer of the Gliss-Speed water kart, the unit will run for two hours on a charge. For renewal, it plugs into a simple outlet. The company is expanding its marketing efforts outside France with a debut at the Dubai International Boat Show this month.

For more information, visit gliss-speed.com

U.K. Yard Builds Vitruvius Tender

Wood-boat builders Cockwells of Cornwall, U.K., is building a 9.5m “Owner’s Tender” for the 73-meter (239-foot, 6-inch) Vitruvius superyacht under construction at Perini Navi. Designed by Andrew Wolstenholme and Cockwells, the vessel exhibits retro styling, but the hull is built using lightweight composite technology in epoxy foam sandwich construction with external Awlgrip paint system and teak decking.

The handcrafted interior provides seating for 12 guests and features include a wet bar and folding bimini. On the swim platform there is a dive ladder and shower, while the forepeak contains a carbon fiber electric toilet and basin.

Cockwells specializes in building custom tenders, which are individually designed to meet the owners exact specifications. They work with their own designers or those selected by clients and can produce any design from open-air runabouts and covered air-conditioned limousines to spacious weekenders.

For more information, visit cockwells.co.uk

Barracuda Runabout

Italy’s Barracuda Yachts will introduce a 27-foot (8.2-meter) runabout it bills as an ideal tender for superyachts. The model, a scaled-down version of its recently launched 42-footer (12.8 meter), features a cabin with a double bed that reaches to the ceiling creating a chaise lounge, quilted leather and teak outfitting, an ice box and a disappearing head in a walk-in compartment. The builder says the boat not only is suitable for day trips, but for short-duration cruising for couples.

Built of advanced composites, the hull was optimized using computerized fluid dynamics techniques and tank testing at the Trieste naval facility. The boat is offered with two propulsion systems: a single 300 hp (220.6 kW) Volvo D4 stern drive for a maximum speed of 40 knots, or twin 200 hp 147.1 kW) Volvo D3s for a maximum speed of 44 knots.

For more information, visit barracudayachts.com