A good tender earns its place aboard faster than almost any other piece of kit. It hauls provisions, ferries crew between anchorages, and doubles as a fishing platform when the mood takes you. Chris Jellie built the MicroTender range with exactly those everyday demands in mind, and the lineup reflects that practical thinking across three distinct models: the MicroTender Mouse, the MicroTender Mini, and the MicroTender Max.
The company is young, though its founders bring a combined experience of more than 40 years to the work.
At the compact end of the range sits the MicroTender Mouse, measuring roughly two metres in length and about 1.6 metres across. Small as it is, stability was central to the design from the outset. "This is our entry level model," Jellie says. "It's very stable, you can stand on the side of this and it's not going to flip." The hull borrows from catamaran thinking without being a true cat. "It curves in at the bow but it has almost the same features as a catamaran," Jellie explains.
Nothing leaves the MicroTender workshop as a fixed, off-the-shelf product. Every boat is built to order, and owners have real scope to tailor the result to their requirements. "We're a custom boat that basically is made to order," Jellie says. "If you can think of something that you'd like added, then we can make it."
Even the smallest model can be fitted with adjustable seating, a helm pod, grab handles, cup holders, and storage solutions including anchor bags. A self-draining cockpit is another practical option. "We can make a self draining cockpit so if it rains it just empties itself," Jellie notes. For owners keen to protect their mothership, large bumper fenders can be fitted around the tender's hull to cushion any contact when tied alongside.
Weight is another area where the MicroTender range makes a clear argument for itself. Tenders loaded up with motors, fuel tanks, and gear can quickly become a two-person lift, which is far from ideal. The MicroTender Mouse comes in at around 30 kilograms in standard trim, dropping to approximately 25 kilograms in the carbon fibre version. Jellie says that lightness has resonated with a particular group of buyers. "We've aimed at that market where people are retiring. Their bodies get a little bit sore if it's anything like mine and they want something light and stable that they can pull up onto the boat."
The MicroTender Mini steps up to composite construction and offers noticeably more room, though the trade-off is a higher weight sitting somewhere between 55 and 60 kilograms. At the top of the range, the MicroTender Max stretches to around 2.6 metres and is conceived less as a basic runabout and more as a compact fishing platform.
Power options span both petrol and electric depending on the model and its intended use. "We can put on about a 5.8 horsepower on the smaller boats," Jellie explains. "With the MicroTender Max about a 9.8 is about where it would sit." Electric motors have proven well suited to quieter, more exploratory outings. Jellie put this to the test during a recent fishing contest at Stillwater Boat Club. "Last weekend we had the Stillwater Boat Club annual river ripper fishing contest and I ran around in one with an electric motor on the back. I was in the water an hour and a half, two hours and it still had heaps of battery left." The silent running came with an unintended advantage. "I could sneak up on all the fishermen and they didn't know I was there."
Because each boat is built to a customer's specification, pricing shifts depending on materials chosen and the extent of any customisation. Entry-level models start at around $6,000, with the price climbing as options are added.
The thinking behind the whole range is straightforward: build a tender that is light enough to manage alone, stable enough to stand on, and versatile enough to earn its keep in more ways than one.
