I can't speak to the Tenderly, but I can say from personal experience that the Passagemaker Dinghy tows quite well, at least in moderate chop and motorboat waves.  The high bow doesn't seem to want to dig in (no forefoot), and she tracks pretty straight without any fuss.  With a foam plug in the daggerboard slot, she doesn't seem to take much water beyond a bit of spray which mostly evaporates--though maybe not up there in the Paciffic Northwest.  <;-)

Mind you, this experience is all on our local CofE lake, so I can't speak to how she might do in really big waves.

.....Michael

Hey Tex,

    Saw your similar post on the GIS FB page.  I love my GIS but would definately advise against trying to use it as a tender.  It is too big and unstable.  Although neither will come close when it comes to sailing performane, either the PMD or Tenderly would be a VERY much better tender.  I would also suggest looking at the Sprindrift designs (B&B yachts) and PT11.

    On a related subject, I would strongly advise against cruising with a tender that you cannot bring aboard when needed.  I owned a Nimble Arctic for 17 years and cruised it all over the SE.  Although I primarily towed my tender (usually a SOT kayak).  I had several instances where I was forced to either bring it aboard or cut it loose.  Luckily I could get it onto the bow.

Good point on being able to bring a dinghy aboard.  That would argue against something as large as a Goat Island Skiff.

So many of these cruising boats have little RIBs with little outboards.  That's what I had on my last boat.  And it frankly isn't a very satisfying way to poke around.  I'm not good on kayaks.  My knees aren't really comfortable long-term in kayak position.  I really prefer sitting such as on a canoe or dinghy for longer periods.   Seems to me that a little hard shell dinghy that can be rowed and sailed would be perfect for exploring sheltered waters when your boat is in anchor.  

Something like a 10' wood or 12' wood (or fiberglass) dinghy could be hoisted onto the stern of most cruising trawlers. But something that large would be a chore to hoist every time and I dislike how having a large dinghy hanging from the stern tends to obstuct your view to the rear. 

So a dinghy that under normal conditions could be towed would be something more to my liking.  And when you stop you just pull the dinghy up and it is ready to go.  No messing with cranes or booms or any such to get it off and on, which can be messy and damage the dinghy or boat if you are not careful.

The Tenderly actually reminds me somewhat of a Trinka 10 which is one of the all time classic yacht tenders and often seen being towed:

http://www.trinka.com/trinka10.htm

Very similar dimensions, weight, and sail area.