Single Tube Stainless Dinghy Davit?

[KaptainKen]

Folks;

Last fall I saw some dinghy davits installed on a sailboat. They consisted of a single stainless tube bent in the conventional shape for a stern davit. Very tidy and neat installation.

The skipper of the boat said it got its strength because it contained one thick wall tube inside the outer thick wall one.

Does anyone know what brand this is? (I was told but neglected to write it down.)

Thanks

Ken

[Morgan Paul]

Ken, check it out.

Kato Marine - Sailboat Davits - Bay II Model Davits

[Morgan Paul]

Simpson Davits: Quality Tubular Davits & Handylift

[KaptainKen]

Morgan;

Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't think those are the ones I saw. The Kato Bay-II model is rated 150 pounds each ... possibly because they arn't the double "tube-within-a-tube" type that I saw. The davits I saw were lifting a pretty substantial RIB inflatable with motor.

I'm sure the Kato Bay-II davits are excellent products, but the are borderline, as far as capacity goes, for my application.

Ken

[David M]

You can get stainless tubing in a number of different wall thicknesses to match whatever strength you want..in addition to adding gussets for additional strength. Metal fabricators that specialize in aluminum and stainless for boats can make you whatever you need.

[Benjamaphone]

When stainless steel tubes are bent the wall thickness at the bend thins out. This severely limits the strength and can lead to failure. At 200 lbs. a tube inside of a tube simply is not enough. For proper installation, we feel that a quality davit should have at least a 12" solid bar at all load points. You will find that quality davit manufacturers avoid bends at all cost.

Ken, were the davits that you saw rotatable? removable? Were they made from 316 or 304 stainless? At 200 lbs. what was the lifting ratio, 6:1?

[Pelagic]

I agree with benjamaphone. Avoid bends and you should be using pipe sections instead of tube and solid stock at the loading areas.
Here are a couple of photos of my davits.

[Benjamaphone]

Those look pretty good there Pelagic. That's a lot of welding and paint though. And as you probably know, welds are the major entry point for a sailors worst enemy, rust. By avoiding welds, bends and paint, some quality davits can far surpass any DIY job. Davits cast out of Alamg-35 are even better because there is only annodized aluminum-magnesium, no welds and no bends.

[Pelagic]

Sorry the photos were not very good. No paint just highly polished stainless pipe.

They were made in Holland 24 years ago and still look like a piece of jewellery. Not a touch of rust!

[Oldfield]

Originally Posted by Morgan Paul

Ken, check it out.

Kato Marine - Sailboat Davits - Bay II Model Davits

Paul,

Just came across you message and link in my serach for davits. Great stuff thank you

[Pblais]

If you check the details on the above you will see they are rated to only 150 pounds. You'll find normal davits rated double that or more. When you consider the work to install them, the extra price for better davits seem not so much. The other model form the Kato Marine are a better product and more suited for your purpose.

Our last boat had St Croix davits that were removable. They were rated to 300 lbs. Our current davits can't be purchased as they were part of the boat. I like davits just fine but they add 5 feet to the LOA and have a magnetic attraction to wood pilings.

[Vasco]

If you're looking for davits try these. Got a pair six years ago. Excellent.

Ocean Marine Systems - Davits, Rails, Lifts, and Platforms.

[Oldfield]

Guys,

Thank you for the replies. These web site give me a great start. I would like to know your opinions on stern access and how davits interfere with taht. The DS42 has fantastic access from the stern and I would hate to loose this featutre.

[Pblais]

I would like to know your opinions on stern access and how davits interfere

I can still exit with the davits. On our last boat I added a folding ladder to the side because the stern ladder was not usable if I went over board. I sure as hell won't be lost at sea because I couldn't get back on the boat. It's an issue you need to examine, but then I don't think you carry a dinghy on davits when the situation gets nasty or could get nasty. It needs a cozy place on deck or deflated.

They work great for short hops or hanging up the boat to keep the barnacles off and the would be thieves at a disadvantage. With both you at least have to try to win or you won't. Not much is 100%.

[Benjamaphone]

Originally Posted by Oldfield

opinions on stern access

To solve this problem, we have designed a varied line of rotating, removable davits that have a variety of mounting options. You can get a great quality rotating davit that can easily be swung out of the way and can be removed when not in use. If you look around you'll find that there are a few good quality davit manufacturers that can solve any mounting, access or any other issues that might arise when considering davits.