On a modern mega yacht, tender boats and other water vehicles are essential components of the ship’s infrastructure, and form the primary means of transportation of passengers between yacht and shore.
As mega yachts are being built on an increasingly larger scale, the size and number of tender boats carried on board also increases. There follows the necessity for larger, more elaborate shell openings to access the boats.
TTS tender doors provide the solution to this problem, designed to create a sufficient opening in the ship through which the tender boat and corresponding crane can pass.
Tender doors are top-hinged shell openings providing access to the area where the yacht’s tender boats are stored. They are normally designed to accommodate the size of the given tender boat plus space for the cranes by which the boat is handled. The doors are operated via hydraulic cylinders located near the hinges, and secured with locking pins in their closed position.
The door panels are normally in open girder design due to the negligible likelihood of water seeping into the door and causing corrosion. This type of design also offers best access to the locking pins which are generally located in the door panel. It is, however, possible to build tender doors using a closed box design which, while loosing easy access to the locking mechanisms, makes the door considerably stronger.
Tender doors can be equipped with floodlights making safe and easy night time tender operations possible. The integration of windows in the door element is also possible. These windows can be of the same size and style as the other windows on the yacht so that, when the door is in closed position, its appearance harmonises with the rest of the ship.
TTS tender doors are built with a percentage of stainless steel well above the normal. All exposed edges, bearing points and cleating components are made of high quality, sea water-resistant stainless steel. Larger proportions of stainless steel can be used according to customer requirements.
The integration of lift-up cleats in the lower areas of the frame can make the mooring of tender boats easier while they are being raised and lowered.