3 ft sounds good, but is so dependent on the bouyancy that it is impossible to give a straight yes/no answer. The only way is to suck and see with the weight applied in the right place. You also have to consider what would be the result if the tender had got a lot of extra water into it. (i.e. forgotten to take the bungs out - or just poor design. My major criticism of the Zodiac fast rider was an inability to get water out of the bottom of the boat, and its 10-15 gallons of water that could accumulate there in a heavy downpour