Loading Inflatable Onto Deck of Sailboat

[jtschetter]

I am having trouble finding davits that will work as I want to dry out my dinghy. I have an 1985 Hunter 40 and a 10.5' Newport inflatable dinghy (7.5 Johnson engine). I want to lift the dinghy + engine onto my forward deck. I have a whisker pole. I will listen to any advice you can give me. Thanks!!

[zeehag]

might want to remove engine and stow in different place and keep deflatable upside down on foredeck or under boom....

[David Chrissy]

We use a spinnaker haliyard with an old main-sheet tackle to hoist alongside at night and onboard for passage making.We swing it midships ,stern in, to take off the outboard and stow it on the tafrail.

[S/V Illusion]

I see an electric winch in your future

[jtschetter]

I have a 28V Milwaukee 90 degree winch handle. That will easily lift the boat and engine individually. Any ideas on the best lifting points on a RIB?

[Sailmonkey]

For drying out at night, we lift the dink with the mainsheet, disconnected from the traveler using a snap shackle. The procedure for this is simple, swing boom over dink, clip on mainsheet, lift dinghy, tie off bow and stern against some fenders on side of boat.
For sailing we simply use the mizzen sheet as a crane for the outboard, lift the outboard onto the aft rail. Then the spin halyard is used to lift the boat onto the fordeck where we go about deflating and folding to put it on deck between the mast and dodger.

[jtschetter]

This sounds like a workable scenario. I appreciate the help!!

[gjordan]

Be carefull of covering the forward hatch if you tie the dink on the foredeck. Fires are rare on boats (but do happen) and if the forward hatch is covered, things get ugly really quick.___2 cents worth____Grant.

[Tony B]

On my Catalina 30, I used a spare halyard and was able load and unload my 10' inflatable dink by myself.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by gjordan

Be carefull of covering the forward hatch if you tie the dink on the foredeck. Fires are rare on boats (but do happen) and if the forward hatch is covered, things get ugly really quick.___2 cents worth____Grant.

if your fire extinguishers are in realistic locations, there is noo problem. also LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY EXTINGUISH FIRE ...... i have seen folks using extinguishers and not getting the fire put out, as they do not aim at base of flame. also, if is a generator and cor4ds are plugged into it, REMOVE those cords as you use extinguisher. you can pop 5 extinguishers on a fire without any effect if you dont remember to remove the source.


yes i had a generator fire on bird before i paid for her--was easily extinguished. dont hesitate to place dink on deck over hatches--unless you are prone to firestarting. with drenaline, the dink will lift up so ye can exit boat. you would be surprised what you are able to do under stresses when adrenaline is flowing thru your body.

[gjordan]

Zeehag, I agree completly that well placed extinguishers are an essential, and that proper skills are needed. The 4 day shipboard firefighting course that the CG required me to take was an eye opener, but most sailors dont have the chance to take a course like that and very few family or crew members know anything about firefighting. At risk of starting a typical CF pissing match, I think it is dangerous to block the only escape route you have in case of a fire. And no amount of adrenaline will break the straps that hold a dingy in place, if it is properly tied. We all have our own tolerance for risk , but to make a broad statement that fires are noo problem, and blocking an escape route is OK, seems to me to be very unwise advice. As I said before , fires are rare, but things can get ugly quickly.____Grant.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by gjordan

Zeehag, I agree completly that well placed extinguishers are an essential, and that proper skills are needed. The 4 day shipboard firefighting course that the CG required me to take was an eye opener, but most sailors dont have the chance to take a course like that and very few family or crew members know anything about firefighting. At risk of starting a typical CF pissing match, I think it is dangerous to block the only escape route you have in case of a fire. And no amount of adrenaline will break the straps that hold a dingy in place, if it is properly tied. We all have our own tolerance for risk , but to make a broad statement that fires are noo problem, and blocking an escape route is OK, seems to me to be very unwise advice. As I said before , fires are rare, but things can get ugly quickly.____Grant.

+1. My dink is on mounts attached to the stern of the dink that have a quick release. The release uses a line that is accessible from the cracked open hatch. Not perfect, but better than nothing. Fires can spread incredibly quickly.

[Paul L]

Back to the original topic. I set my topping lift up with a 2-to-1 set of blocks. This with a 3 point harness on the dink makes for reasonably easy lifting.

[Cheechako]

A 3 or 4 way bridle is best to lift your dingy, especially if you are going to leave the engine on. FYI: If it's been in the water long, it will make a mess on deck.... Pulloing it up to sit alongside the spreaders at night is pretty easy though....

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

A 3 or 4 way bridle is best to lift your dingy, especially if you are going to leave the engine on. FYI: If it's been in the water long, it will make a mess on deck.... Pulloing it up to sit alongside the spreaders at night is pretty easy though....

Along side the spreaders!?!?!? You mean like up the mast along side the spreaders??? That'll keep outboard theft down!!!