Extender EXT 520
How do you save stowage space while getting maximum LOA in a tender? Giancarlo Storti, chairman of a woodworking-equipment manufacturer in Italy and a passionate yachtsman, asked himself that question many times.
Storti was frustrated by RIBs that were too small for his family but maxed out his stowage. He spent sleepless nights trying to design a folding RIB without compromising structural integrity or stability. “Once I invented the patented closing system, everything else was easy,” he says.
The system deflates the RIB’s forward third in two minutes while the boat remains stable in the water. The forward section then folds in on itself.
Giancarlo Storti
Giancarlo Storti
What prompted the Extender concept?
I’ve designed woodworking machinery for 40 years but have always had a special love of the sea. I started from the idea that a folding tender could add more boat to my tender garage. There were folding boats on the market. The big challenge was to design a system with the safety, comfort, speed and capacity of traditional RIBs of the same size.
What happened after the prototype?
I used it for years before realizing it would be appreciated by other yacht owners. In 2013, my wife and I launched Extender. We can engineer all types of tenders around the patented closing system. We’ve designed our tenders to be totally customizable in colors, finishes and accessories — even in lengths — to adapt to different needs.
“You can’t tell the difference from a traditional RIB in any sea condition,” says Barbara Amerio of Italy’s Permare Group. The yacht builder liked the concept so much it designed the garage of its new Amer 94 around Extender’s EXT 520. “We offer the same-size tender as a larger superyacht while saving storage,” Amerio says. Powered by a 60 hp outboard, the seven-passenger 520 has a length overall of 17 feet, deflating to 10 feet.
