Tiwal Inflatable Sailing Dinghies

Emmanuel Bertrand got an email this past summer from the crew aboard a superyacht that’s owned by a US billionaire. “The crew was telling us that our toy was his favorite toy,” Bertrand says. “His boat is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but he’s having fun on the $6,000 dinghy.”

That sailing dinghy was an inflatable Tiwal, the company that Bertrand co-founded in 2012 in France. Tiwal has operated in the United States for more than a decade, with Americans comprising about a third of the company’s business. “Whether they’re billionaires or regular people, they all want to have fun,” he says. “Our boat is very reactive. The width of our hull is pretty wide. You can still capsize, but it’s less complicated to sail than a Laser. It’s way more forgiving. That’s something we wanted to bring on the market, boats that were just easy.”

There are two lines of dinghies at Tiwal: the 2s (starting at $6,850) and the 3s (starting at $7,360). Each line has several models. The 2s are family-oriented, while the 3s are intended for performance and racing. The smallest model weighs about 90 pounds and takes 15 minutes to inflate, Bertrand says. The 2XL, which is expected to launch at the end of this year, will seat two adults and two children, or three adults, and will be the first model with a jib. “We wanted to keep the kids busy and make the boat more exciting,” he says.

Hulls are made like inflatable paddleboards, but with a V-shape instead of a flat bottom, Bertrand says: “You had inflatable cats for a very long time. A few brands had been around for a while. But when it comes to the regular dinghy, we were the first ones to bring something that works like a regular dinghy.”

The 3R model, he says, is the one for yacht owners who want to push the limits on performance. “The 3R is a racing version of the 3,” he says. “You can take some pretty high winds with it. The boat can handle it. We don’t advertise our boat above 20 knots, but we do take them out in 25 or a bit more. It depends on the sailor.”

Tiwal 2XL

The Tiwal 2XL (from $10,930) is scheduled to hit the market at the end of this year. Inflation time is about 25 minutes, according to the company, and the deflated dinghy can be packed and stowed or carried in two bags. This dingy is 12 feet, 6 inches long with a Dacron furling sail by North Sails, and hardware by Harken.

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