There are many terms to describe auxiliary boats attached to other boats: tender, annexe, chase boat, support vessel. These names are often borrowed from the English language, but commonly used in French. Although their use is quite similar, they can sometimes be confused.
The appendix
A dinghy is in marine parlance "an auxiliary craft". This term is often used to describe a small inflatable rowing or motor boat used to disembark from the main boat. It can also be registered or not .
The tender
The tender is also a dinghy, but this word is used more in the world of large yachting. Indeed, a tender is a boat attached to a superyacht. It is used in the same way to reach the land, but also for the assistance or the entertainment of the owners. Indeed, their size and their motorization allow them to consider longer trips than the inflatable dinghy. And often their equipment - personalized - offers many possibilities of entertainment and sometimes accommodation.
The Chase boat
The chase boat is a boat that is independent of the main yacht it accompanies and often has its own crew. Unlike the tender, which sits inside the yacht in a specially designed garage, the chase boat can be towed, driven separately or moored in a convenient location.
More and more yacht owners are purchasing this type of unit, due to the space restrictions of tender garages. Having a separate boat with all the equipment needed on board gives owners a multitude of options. They have a large cockpit space, plenty of storage for nautical equipment, sunbathing areas, a good autonomy and even cabins to be able to spend one or more nights on board.
Indeed, chase boats can be highly personalized and luxurious with one or more beds, a bathroom, a dining area, a television and audiovisual equipment.
Moreover, unlike the tender which will be reduced in size to fit within the yacht to which it is attached, the chase boat has no size limits. We can therefore find auxiliary boats of 20 m for example.
There are several players in this market such as Maori, Windy, Novurania, Wally, Van Dutch, X-tender, Dariel, Pascoe, Wajer & Wajer or Yachtwerft Meyer. It is also for this purpose that the RIB shipyards start building larger and larger units.
The Yacht support vessel
The superyacht support vessel is a yacht, but dedicated to the "support" of a motor yacht. That is to say, it carries the toys and all the equipment dedicated to the pleasures of the superyacht owners: tender, helicopter, submarines, jet-ski etc... It is driven by a different crew than the superyacht.
