Mahe 36: Dinghy and Davits

[IrieCat]

Scott, I had the same issue with my davits (my fault) my tender is 10'2. A little to long. I have tried to include a picture of the block I installed which has solved the problem.
Lonnie

[DtM]

Our davits work well. Our dinghy is at the limit of size (not weight). We have found that if you tie a line from the dinghy to one of the aft cleats it stops the swinging that might be causing you annoyance Irie. We also have a light line from a staunchion to the dinghy that stops fore and aft swing in a decent sea.

Our batteries are holding up OK.

Our custom bimini is fantastic (side curtains are great off the bimini) and I am interested to hear that even the factory bimini has a rubbing problem with the mainsheet reaching and downwind. we are thinking of making a "sock" for the first three feet of the mainsheet off the boom.

[lstyles]

I am worried about damage. When I brought my Mahe across the Caribbean sea we had some big following seas. Because we knew we were going to likely have this kind of sea we removed the dinghy and motor from the Davits before we left. We also had a pretty rough crossing from Anguilla to the BVI with 9-10 ft following seas and had left the dinghy and motor on (but well secured). It actually went very well and we didnt have any problems when we left it on. Just the same if I anticipated a rough go I would likely take at least the motor off and probably the dinghy too. That leads me to worry if I would have to take off the solar panel too. Probably not and I see lots of people with their solar panels out like that so it must not be too big an issue. Obviously with a broad beam and big bimini it also seems attractive to put it up there. ??? Just wanted to see if anyone had had issues with your set-up.
thanks,
Lori

[RoadRacer]

Could I please hear a few opinions on dinghy recommendations for a Mahe? Not so much concerned with brands although I would like to know what others think of Apex & Caribe, but rather what is a good length.
A BVI charter had a Caribe 10X that was a beautiful dink but was quite large for the transom width.
Use would be the Chesapeake and Bahamas. Thanks!

Chuck

[jean1146]

We have a Caribe 9',I would not recommend anything bigger,because of weight concern.
JC.

[Cotemar]

Chuck,

We mounted a 9'2" Mercury 280 Rib dingy at 89 lbs with a Tohatsu 6 HP Engine at 55lbs.
Which works well for us.

Mark

[Scott730]

I have a 9' Walker Bay with an inflatible floor, and a 6 hp 4 stroke nissan (I would upgrade outboard to an 8 hp). I really like the air floor, the dinghy and motor together is about 125 lbs. it is easy to deflate and store. I would not get anything bigger than 9.5 feet, just doesn't fit well.

[MKB53]

I would agree that you should keep to 3M max for ease of use. The other thing to be aware of is the WIDTH as anything over about 1.5M gets difficult to lift past the rear beam. I was told that 2 stroke moters are better for tenders as the motor is often taken off and laid flat. Apparently 4 strokes don't like that.

[Scott730]

Martin
I would love to have a 2 stroke but you can 't buy a new one in the U.S., You can lay a 4 stroke on it's side with no problem, it is the weight that is a problem with 4 strokes, much heavier than a 2 stroke.

[RoadRacer]

Thanks for the replies! I'm looking at a Caribe 9X or Apex A9, both options nine-footers, with a 15-hp Honda four-stroker. A bit heavier than a comparable 2S but I inhale enough castor racing karts!
How do you reduce/eliminate chafing against the davits or hull? Fix the dinghy fast with lines or bungies to prevent swinging?

Chuck

[DtM]

When we are at sea we tie a line from the stern of the dinghy to the aft cleat on the boat and use a sail tie to tie the dinghy to one of the stanchions next to the davits.

No swinging and no waves filling the dinghy.

[RoadRacer]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

[Cotemar]

Mahe's,

My Davit upgrade consisted of:

1) Purchasing two Lewmar Double 60mm Syncro Blocks
Model #: 29926002 from Defender.com for $39 each.
Installing them to give a 4 to1 ratio up from a 3 to 1.


2) With a course 3/8 round file, I filed the lower rear side of the davit pulley slot to lower the line friction happening there. See picture

3) Removed the SpinLocks from the lower section of both davits
These were mounted to low for the pull angle needed.

4) Using a 13/64 drill and a 6MM X 1.0 Thread pitch plug tap.
I drilled and taped two holes higher up on the davit and remounted the spinlocks

5 ) Using the same drill and tap. I drilled one more hole in the lower area where the spinlock was and mounted a cleat.

Now with the better pulley ratio and lower friction the dink goes up and down without slipping out of my hands. The cleat was just added as a safety backup for offshore.

Mark

[Cotemar]

Mahe's

Changed the Davit pulley system from the back breaking Factory 3 to1 to an Old age friendly 6 to 1 system.

Here is the process:
1) Drill out the 2 rivets holding the cast pulley system into the davit tube

2) With a hammer and punch, tap out the .552 pin through the pulleys

3) Tap rivet holes out with a 5/16-18 tap for Stainless Steel 5/16-18 bolts 1” long

4) Ordered Grooved Idler Pulley
https://sdp-si.com/eStore/
A 6M 9-04812 $7
Outside Dia. 3"
Face Width 0.438"
Bottom of groove Dia. 2.5"
Bore Size .376" must be drilled out to 9/16 (.562)

5) Put a 3/8 bolt through the pulley and spin a nut on and tighten.
Now put this in a hand drill and spin the pulley and file the groove with a 3/8 rough file.

6) Drill the pulley I.D. out to 9/16 (.562) diameter

7) Trace the aluminum divider onto a piece of .040 thick aluminum, then cut with shears and drill a 9/16 hole in the same location as on the template

8) Put a little Lithum grease on the pulley I.D.’s and put the assembly back together

7) Purchased Lewmar 60 mm Triple Synchro Block $58
www.defender.com

Mark

[IrieCat]

Here is a pic of Kokomo returning from a 10 mile trip out into the Atlantic to recover our dinghy. Lots of thanks to the crew of both the Ocean View and Kokomo for not giving up on the search.