caltexflanc
Guru
A console also takes away from the carrying capacity of the tender. As nice as it is to have controls and a steering wheel it makes carrying coolers and such just that much harder...
That's not necessarily so at all. Every console I've seen has storage space inside, or in the case of our Whaler, underneath the steering and dash board; our large soft cooler fits right there, thank you very much.
We've used a bunch of tiller dinghies on various boats we chartered, and they are perfectly fine for short hauls or now and then explorations. But after having this Whaler, I don't think we could ever go back to a tiller on a boat we owned. The console set up makes long excursions really fun and is so much more comfortable.